Your Wildest Dreams
by Kristen Elizabeth
Summary: Stranded in the middle of Africa with Heero...Relena's simple trip had turned into a nightmare.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Characters herewithin do not belong to me. Period, end of sentence.  
  
Author's Notes: This is a canon fic, something I haven't done in awhile. But I got some really great responses from the GW_Heero_and_Relena ML (thanks yall, once again), so I'm putting it up here at last. I hope everyone out there enjoys it, too! Thanks;)   
  
****   
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
It was supposed to have been a simple trip to Africa, planned by her publicist as part of her campaign for the Presidency of the Earth-Space United Nations. She was only supposed to stop on the newly reconstructed Lake Victoria Base for a day, cut the red ribbon, make a speech about how she planned to keep allotting enough funds to the Preventers to allow them to carry on their good work upon her election, and then fly back to the Sanq Kingdom for more rallies and meetings.   
  
It turned out to be an adventure that forever changed Relena Peacecraft's life.   
  
She had no idea that it would be as she packed a simple bag of her things on the crisp, fall morning of her departure. At twenty-three years old, Relena was practically unrecognizable as the impossibly young and naïve child who had been crowned Queen of the World. Not only had her body filled out, but her ideals and goals had matured in the seven years since the wars had ended. While she still believed in peace, Relena no longer protested the idea that it could come about without any bloodshed.   
  
Politics, however, were not on her mind as she folded a lightweight business suit into her suitcase. The night before, she had been out on her third date with the son of the Trade Ambassador, and she was still recovering from his overzealous attempts to steal a kiss at the end of the evening. Dating anyone, especially someone who defined the word 'icky,' was entirely her publicist's idea. Relena simply went along, to keep up the public appearance that she was a normal young woman, and not an isolated workaholic. If she'd had her way, she would have spent the evening with a good book and a glass of wine.   
  
She paused for a second. Reading and drinking alone. It was sad how that could constitute her idea of a fun evening. Maybe that was why she kept accepting the dates on which she was asked out. To convince herself that her life wasn't the most boring story ever told.   
  
Someone knocked on her door, jolting Relena out of her thoughts. "Come in."  
  
"Are you ready?"   
  
His voice had the power to seize her throat and prevent her from breathing for several seconds. It was a good thing, then, that Heero Yuy rarely spoke to her except when it was unavoidable. He had been her Preventer-assigned bodyguard ever since she had been elected Foreign Minister four years earlier, and since then, they'd probably had a grand total of three hour's worth of conversation.   
  
Relena snapped her suitcase shut and set it onto the floor. "Just a few more things, and I will be."   
  
She disappeared into the bathroom that was attached to her spacious bedroom. When she emerged a moment later with a smaller bag full of her toiletries, Heero was still standing in the same, awkward position. Close enough to the door to make for a hasty escape, and just far enough away from her bed to remind her that he was never going to be in it.   
  
Making a great pretense of adding her makeup to the bag, Relena snuck a glance at her bodyguard. She wasn't the only one between them who had grown up since the wars. Heero had always been unavoidably pleasing to the eye, but now he was dangerously good-looking. The combination of his piercing eyes, the scowl that was forever etched on his brow, and the thick, chocolate-colored bangs that halfway covered both was immensely appealing. And when you factored in the chiseled body that was so wonderfully accentuated by his Preventer uniform…well, Relena lived in hell every day, wanting but being unable to touch.   
  
"Will you be accompanying me to Africa?"   
  
His arms were folded, and his reply was an affirmative grunt.   
  
"I've never been before, but I always wanted to go on a safari when I was a child."  
  
"Hn."  
  
Relena zipped up the bag and set it next to her suitcase. "I'd still like to someday, but at best I'll only have the time when I'm old, grey and retired."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"I can't express to you how much our conversations mean to me." She pulled on a cream-colored coat over her linen pants and trim blouse. "But you'd better watch out, Commander Yuy, or I'll have to start calling you 'Mr. Chatterbox'."   
  
He moved forward and picked up both of her bags in one hand. Without another word, or even so much as another grunt, Heero left the room.   
  
Relena rubbed her temple with one finger. It was promising to be a very long weekend.   
  
****  
  
Her campaign speech was delivered without flaw, but then he was only half listening to it. For the majority of the time she stood at the podium speaking, Heero was wondering how she managed to keep looking so perfect in the balmy heat of South Africa. Without a hair astray or a bead of perspiration on her brow, Relena captivated her audience with promises and pledges. From anyone else's mouth, they might have seemed false. But he had known her for a very long time. Relena was a woman of her word.   
  
Heero glanced at his watch. Eloquent or not, her speech had better find its way to a conclusion soon. He was supposed to have her on the private jet, and on her way to Cairo to catch a connecting flight to Sanq within the next half hour, and he wasn't above cutting her off in order to keep on schedule.   
  
She'd hate him for it for maybe a few minutes. As much as she was honest, she was all too forgiving. That was probably the only reason he still had the job as her bodyguard. She could forgive him for being unable to give her what she needed. What she deserved. Although she saw it as forgiving his inability to return her feelings.   
  
But that wasn't true. He knew how she felt about him. He knew how he felt about her. But she would never know it. Because for all the bravery he was supposed to have, Heero just didn't have it in him to follow his own advice and be true to his emotions.   
  
The best he could do was to protect her and watch from the shadows as she was courted by every eligible bachelor with a pedigree. One day, she would probably marry one of them, and have a succession of very perfect babies. But before that happened, he had sworn to retire. He could stand a lot of things, but seeing her married and pregnant with another man's child was too much.   
  
Her speech was wrapping up and he was glad he wouldn't have to incur her temporary wrath, although it was fun to see her get angry. Her eyes sparked, her cheeks flushed, her voice went from polite and restrained, to passionate and riled; he saw the real Relena when she was mad, not the watered-down politician she showed everyone else.   
  
"It is my intent…" she announced over the speaker system. "…to ensure that the Preventers have the means to continue their peace-keeping efforts indefinitely, at fine facilities such as this base. This is my promise, the promise of a secure tomorrow for you as well as for future generations. Peace is not a state of being, but a state of believing. And I believe that together, we can all maintain it. Thank you."   
  
Amidst much applause and cries from reporters for pictures and answers to their questions, Relena stepped down from the podium. Heero immediately moved into a flanking position at her side, a human shield against the throngs of people. His hand remained on the handle of his gun in the holster around his hips; his eyes scanned the crowd for any signs of aggressive behavior.   
  
They made their way to the jet that waited for her; Relena did her best to smile and wave as she was hastily ushered up the portable staircase and into the plane. He didn't seem to notice her frustration; she could campaign around him. Her safety was his only priority.   
  
At the top of the steps, Heero took a final look around at the base before following her. The single flight attendant closed the rounded door behind them, sealing the plane up for take-off. Relena was already seated in one of the wide, leather seats, hands propped up on her hips. "You know, politics is mostly about public opinion, Commander Yuy. And I'm never going to keep my favorable opinion if I'm not allowed to have any contact with said public!"   
  
He took his place across from her; his laptop was already waiting for him on the next seat over. "I'm doing my job."   
  
"Look, just because you don't want to talk to me, doesn't mean all those people out there wouldn't like to. I have obligations." The plane began to taxi down the runway. "Perhaps if you did your job better, security at functions like this wouldn't even be an issue."  
  
She struck a nerve there, and he turned a cold glare onto her. "If I weren't doing my job just fine, you'll probably be dead."  
  
Relena's chin lifted a notch. "Would you care if I were?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
She sat back against the leather seat with sharp movements. After a few seconds of staring out the window as they lifted off the ground, Relena looked back at him. He was already staring at a security grid on his computer, but he could feel her blue eyes boring into him. "You're really a very hard person to love, Heero."   
  
He flinched; it was the first time in years that she'd called him by his name. But more than that, she'd used the word. She'd only used it one time before, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, when she'd expressed her feelings for him, and waited for his answer. And she'd never mentioned it since, in the wake of his silence.   
  
Heero looked up at her. "Get some sleep. It's a long way to Cairo."   
  
****  
  
The jerk of the plane underneath her woke Relena up from her much-needed nap. A blanket was draped over her body; it hadn't been present when she'd slipped into sleep. She attributed its placement to the flight attendant; Heero surely wouldn't have even thought about whether or not she was cold.   
  
The next thing she noticed was that Heero was no longer seated across from her. She lifted her head and looked around. The cabin was empty. Even the flight attendant had disappeared somewhere. Relena pushed off the blanket and unbuckled her safety belt. As she stood up, the plane lurched again, and she fell back into a sitting position.   
  
Licking her lips and willing back a sudden sense of fear, she tried standing again, and this time managed to begin the short trek to the cockpit. But before she reached it, Heero emerged, looking more affected than she'd ever seen him. Which wasn't to say he seemed particularly stressed or nervous; he simply seemed bothered.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked him. "Turbulence?"  
  
"Go back and strap yourself in," he ordered. "The situation is under control."  
  
"Oh, so there is a situation, then." Relena swallowed. "Commander Yuy, if something is seriously the matter, I have every right to know about it."   
  
Heero took her arm and began not-so-gently guiding her back to her seat. "When you need to know, you'll know."   
  
Another, much more severe jolt shook the jet. Relena reached up for the overhead storage bin to anchor herself. She never quite made it; his hands circled her waist for support, and she found herself all too up-close and personal with her bodyguard. "Are you going to tell me that I don't need to know what that was?"   
  
The flight attendant ran from the cockpit just then; the petite woman accosted them both. "The captain needs you, Commander Yuy!"   
  
Heero released Relena just as quickly as he had touched her. "Get her into her seat."   
  
As he strode back down the aisle, the woman looked at Relena. "Please, Minister Peacecraft."  
  
"I want to know what's going on right this minute."  
  
The attendant wrung her pale hands. "There's a slight…problem with one of the engines."  
  
Relena's stomach dropped a couple of inches. "What are they going to do?"  
  
"They're trying to locate the nearest airport or landing strip, but…"  
  
"But what?"  
  
"We're flying over what you might call the middle of nowhere, ma'am. At last check, the captain said central Botswana. There's not exactly many places to safely land." The woman backed away. "Please do as the Commander asks. He's only thinking of your safety." With that, she moved towards the back of the plane, presumably to her own little seat.   
  
Relena sank down, her hand clutching her throat. She remained still, even as the plane continued to jerk and shake, until finally, Heero came out from the cockpit.   
  
She met his gaze, and instantly feared for their lives. Heero's eyes were wide and worried; his hair was tousled as though he'd been pulling at it. He ran to her, kneeling down to her level.   
  
"Relena," he began. "It's time you know…that this plane is going down. One of the engines is gone, and we're losing fuel. The pilot is going to try to land us, but because it's dark, he doesn't have a clear idea of where that might be. Do you remember what to do for an emergency landing?"   
  
She nodded a moment, before his careful tone began to bother her. "I'm not a child. I can handle this," she scowled.  
  
Heero rose to his feet. "Good." He started to move away, but then turned back. "I want you to live through this, Relena. And not just because it's my job."   
  
He was already gone when she whispered back, "Really, Heero?"   
  
****  
  
It all happened so fast. One moment they were flying through the night sky, and the next they were on a crash course for the hard surface below. It was almost unnatural how quickly the fuel drained away, how suddenly the engine died. But Heero didn't have time to contemplate this. His main concern was helping the captain land the jet in relative safety.   
  
Perhaps that mission would have been clearer if he hadn't been plagued with a thousand worries about the woman in the passenger's cabin. She'd looked so small and helpless when he left her, but he knew that underneath that fragility was a survivor. If any of them were going to make it through this ordeal, it would be Relena.   
  
Within minutes from the time the engine began to fail, the private jet landed on African soil, skidding over hills and through forests with frightening speed. The entire world seemed to shake, and all Heero could do was hold onto the controls and duck his head to avoid the deadly spray of glass as the cockpit windows shattered upon impact.   
  
And then, it all stopped. Heero lifted his chin from his chest. Shrubbery that had been forced into the plane littered the area around him. He glanced over at the captain. The old man was slumped over in his seat, held in place only by his safety harness. A tremendous blow to his skull had been his end.   
  
Ignoring his own wounds, Heero undid his belt and crawled out of the co-pilot's seat. When his feet hit the floor, the plane moved, and he heard the distinct sound of water bubbling up. His eyes narrowed and he peered out the glass-less window. All he could see was darkness, but it didn't take much for him to guess that they had landed in water.   
  
"Shit."   
  
Carefully, Heero left the cockpit. He could feel the plane sinking; time was running out. "Relena?"  
  
Her blonde head appeared over a battered row of seats, and he almost sighed out loud in sheer relief. "Heero?" As he came closer, he could see blood on her face, seeping from a head wound. Still, all she cared about was the others. "The captain?"  
  
"Dead." After assuring that she was at least able to move, Heero continued past her and ducked his head into the back area. The flight attendant was in a similar position as the captain. A drink cart had broken free and slammed directly into her stomach.   
  
Relena stood up. "Is she…?"  
  
He blocked her view by grasping her shoulders. "I'll grab some supplies; you get the emergency exit open and inflate the slide thing."   
  
"Heero, where are we?"   
  
"We'll figure that out later. Right now I'd like for this plane not to sink to the bottom of whatever river or lake this is, with us in it. All right?" She nodded, suddenly even more ashen. He reached for her lovely face, and swiped at the blood that colored it. "Go. Hurry."   
  
Careful to avoid the dead woman, Heero gathered as much non-perishable food as he could find, along with cans of juice and bottles of water. He stuffed it all into a trash bag, along with a first-aid kit, two flashlights and a blanket. He slung the bag onto his shoulder, and felt to make sure his holster was still in place.   
  
When he came back into the cabin, he could see that while Relena had gotten the exit hatch open, she was having trouble with the inflatable slide. Her carry-on bag sat close by her feet; he couldn't believe that she had bothered to retrieve it from overhead storage.   
  
"Here." He handed her the supplies and took her place at the hatch. The water was nearly level with the bottom of the opening. The slide was going to end up being more of a raft than anything else. It inflated with a strong tug on its cord and hit the water with a terrific splash.   
  
"Get on it," he told her. When she reached for the bag, he shook his head. "We're only taking what's necessary."  
  
"And this is necessary," Relena informed him. "My passport is in here, international credits. Toothpaste. I'm not leaving without it."  
  
The water was rising too fast for him to argue with her. "Fine. But you're carrying it." Without even replying, Relena took a deep breath and crawled onto the bright yellow rubber slide. Heero joined her a moment later, and reached back to undo the pins that fixed their raft to the plane. They broke away just as water flooded into the still-lit cabin. And as they drifted off, they watched the jet slip further and further below the surface until it was just an eerie glow under the water.   
  
Relena trembled; the night air was cold. "Did you reach anyone…to send our last coordinates?"   
  
"No. There wasn't anyone to reach."   
  
"So no one knows where we went down, then. Not even us."   
  
Heero rummaged through his bag, trying not to tip the raft too much. There was no telling what lurked in the water around them. He pulled out a flashlight and switched it on. "That pretty much sums it up."   
  
She nodded tightly. Looking away from him, she let go of the tears she'd managed to hold in for the entire crash. Stranded in the middle of Africa with no help in the foreseeable future…with Heero Yuy.   
  
Her simple trip had turned into a nightmare.   
  
****  
  
To Be Continued 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me.  
  
Author's Notes: Chapter Two, ready for you. Prompt, eh? I aim to please. Thanks for the initial feedback;) Enjoy the story!!  
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
"Duo?" The woman lying in the bed next to him shifted onto her side to see her boyfriend better. "Are you awake?"  
  
"Sort of," he replied, frowning. "I had a really fucked up dream."  
  
Hilde Schbeiker ran her fingers up and down the length of his bare arm. "Do you want to talk about it, sweetie?"   
  
He hesitated for another second. "You and I were going at it…"  
  
"Oh, you make it sound so romantic."  
  
Duo was too caught up in the memory of his dream to notice her tone. "And then I looked over…and Heero was standing there."  
  
Hilde's nose crinkled. "Watching us?!"  
  
"No, not really. He was staring past us. And he was all…bruised and cut up. I looked to see what he was looking at, you know." Duo stopped.  
  
"What was it?"   
  
"Relena." Duo scrubbed his hands down his face. "It was like…he wanted me to see her. I don't know." He glanced over at the naked pixie lying against his side. "What do you think it means, babe?"   
  
She lifted an eyebrow at him. "I'm supposed to get inside that brain of yours and figure things out? I don't think so."   
  
"Yeah," he agreed. After another moment, Duo shook his head against the pillow. "I can't shake this feeling that something's…wrong."   
  
Hilde sat up over him. "Do you want to contact him and make sure everything is all right?"   
  
"What would I say? 'I had a dream about you, Yuy, and I need to make sure you're not dead'?"  
  
"You'd be amazed how often the truth actually works, Duo."   
  
He climbed out of bed rather abruptly and reached for his jeans. After pulling them on and zipping up, he looked back at her. "I'll try to get through to her, how's that?"   
  
Hilde lifted her slender shoulder. "Whatever makes you feel better, sweetie."   
  
Duo walked backwards to the door of their bedroom, pointing at her as he went. "Stay right there. Soon as I clear this up, I'm coming back to have my way with you."  
  
"Well, aren't I just the luckiest little girl in the solar system." She gave him a coy little smile.   
  
He pulled the door open. "Prettiest, too."   
  
Their communicator wasn't the most reliable piece of equipment, but it managed to hold on long enough for him to reach the mansion Relena called home. After a few minutes of weeding through the security codes Heero had installed, Duo found himself being greeted by Relena's old and trusted butler, Paygan.   
  
"Mr. Maxwell, good afternoon."  
  
"Hey there." He combed his hair through his bangs, trying to make himself a little more presentable in front of the formally dressed man. "Listen, I was just wondering…I mean…if Relena is there, can I talk to her?"  
  
Worry made the old man's wrinkled face even more so. "Perhaps you have not seen the news, Mr. Maxwell," Paygan said, his voice unnaturally grave.  
  
Duo swallowed. "No. Not yet."   
  
"The jet taking Miss Relena from the Victoria Base to Egypt never reached Cairo. Attempts to establish communication with the pilot have failed. Miss Relena…is missing."   
  
"Holy fuck." His large hand covered his mouth. "And…was Heero on the plane, too?"  
  
Paygan nodded. "I am sorry to be the bearer of such troubling news."   
  
Duo acknowledged the communication being shut down, but he was busy reaching for the television's remote control and flipping stations until he found the L2 News Network.   
  
"…are no last known coordinates for the Foreign Minister's jet, but it is known that the plane took off from the Victoria Base at approximately 1700 hours yesterday evening, heading on a northeasterly route to Cairo. Search parties are being dispatched to the former republics of Zaire and Tanzania, but civil unrest in these territories, as well as harsh weather conditions and the dangers of the local fauna will make rescue operations extremely difficult. And the likelihood of finding the missing jet, slim. Once again, if you've just joined us, Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft, along with three others, including one Preventer, are missing after a presumed plane crash in Africa. Network News will have continuing updates of this story throughout the day. Now, back to…"  
  
"Duo?"   
  
He whipped around. Hilde stood in the doorway to the bedroom, wrapped in a sheet. Her delicate face was whiter than the material. "Oh my god…Relena…and Heero."   
  
The apartment was silent until Duo threw the remote control against the wall. It broke apart, sending batteries and plastic flying. Tears sprung up in Hilde's eyes as her boyfriend began to pace back and forth. "They've already written them off as dead," Duo fumed. "They'll do a half-assed search mission, but only because it's Relena. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't even bother. It's fucking unbelievable!!"  
  
"Africa, Duo." Hilde took a step towards him. "I suppose they figure…well…how long can anyone survive there? If they survived the crash at all…"  
  
"There's a million things that could have happened, Hilde. And it's not like the whole country is the land before time. There are villages and even cities." He stopped. "Don't forget, babe. If she's…alive, she's probably with Heero. And it would take a lot more than some lions and snakes to get rid of that man."   
  
She licked her lower lip. "If he's alive, too."  
  
Duo froze for a second, before making a flying leap for the communicator. "There's only one way to find out."  
  
"Duo?"  
  
He turned the communicator back on, eternally grateful to whatever higher power existed when it flared to life. "Number…number…" He tapped the side of his head several times. "What's the goddamn number?!"  
  
"Duo, who are you calling?"  
  
"Ah!" Suddenly remembering it, Duo typed madly for a second. When he was done, he looked over at her. "Reinforcements, babe." He looked back at the screen just as a man's scowling face filled it. "Wufei! Great to see you, been too long, looking good, okay, enough crap. You've heard the news. You know what's going on. Now, tell me…how quick can you get all of us to Africa?"  
  
****  
  
Heero spotted the first crocodile just before dawn. He didn't say anything, not wanting to alarm the woman curled up in the closest corner of the twenty-five foot yellow rubber raft. She deserved one last chance at peaceful, uninterrupted sleep before the reality of their situation set in. But Heero had been keeping his flashlight trained on the water for hours, searching for the reflection of eyes near them. Crocodiles were his biggest worry, but depending on how deep the water was, there was also the risk of the extremely territorial hippo. African waters were not friendly to humans.   
  
He couldn't quite remember if it would hypnotize the croc or not, but he kept the light trained on it as it hovered on the surface, only three or four feet from the raft. "You just stay right where you are," he muttered. "I'd rather not waste a bullet on you."  
  
"Waste a bullet on who?" Relena asked as she woke up. She blinked several times. "Heero?"   
  
"Stay still," he ordered her. "We've got an unwelcome visitor."   
  
She nodded tightly; her fear tasted bitter in the back of her throat. "Will we make it to shore?"   
  
"I'm not even sure there is a shore. We might not be in a river, but a marsh." Heero watched the crocodile for any signs of movement. "We'll know more when the sun comes up."   
  
"Okay," Relena whispered.   
  
There was no more conversation because there was nothing for them to say. At least, nothing either of them were willing to say out loud. Relena touched her forehead; the blood there had congealed into a sticky mess; she didn't even want to know how bad she looked. She couldn't see much in the pre-dawn darkness, but Heero seemed to have escaped the crash with just cuts and bruises. Unless he was hiding a more serious wound. He wasn't above it.   
  
As time crept by, reds and pinks appeared on the horizon, like the most vivid watercolor portrait come to life. With her arms wrapped around her knees, Relena watched the dawn blossom. There were no buildings to get in the way of it, no smog to conceal its colors. "It's so beautiful," she whispered.  
  
For Heero, the more light that appeared, the more he could see just how desperate their situation was. The crocodile seemed to be staying where it was, but it had been joined by two or three of its friends. He took a breath and allowed himself one small look around the raft.   
  
They weren't moving with a current, so whatever body of water they'd landed in was a standing one. It looked to be some sort of water hole, half covered in brush and probably no deeper than the plane had been tall. In fact, when he looked over his shoulder, he could see the jet's back wing peeking up from the surface. That was something, at least. If people came this way on a search party, they might be able to spot it.   
  
But that was a very big "might."   
  
"Here's what we're going to do, Relena," Heero began in a low voice. "Feel around behind you on the edge of the raft. Do you feel a pocket of some sort?"   
  
Relena did as he asked and nodded. "I found a zipper."   
  
"There should be a collapsible paddle in there." A moment later, she pulled out a hunk of folded metal. "All right. Get it ready. I'm going to ease us over to that strip of dry land." Heero pointed to a spot several yards away where the grass and brush were the thickest. "Once we're there, I'll…" He stopped when he saw that her shoulders had started to tremble. "Relena?" He followed her gaze out over the water, to the spot where the crocodiles basked. "I have a gun, Relena." Heero hesitated. "I won't let anything happen to you."   
  
She looked back at him. "You never do." Shaking her head, Relena set about unfolding the paddle. When it was ready, she handed it to him.   
  
By the time they had paddled their way over to the brush, the sun was completely up. It beat down on them like an abusive spouse, and they were sweaty within minutes. Relena's face was sticky with freshly moistened blood; she rubbed at her wound, but only succeeded in smearing the blood onto the back of her hand.   
  
"We're almost there," Heero said, breathing heavily from the effort of moving the raft without attracting much attention to them. "I get out first, in case there's something worse in the bush. If anything happens to me, use the paddle and push out back to…"  
  
"Nothing's going to happen to you," she told him quietly, but firmly. "Heero, if I'm out here alone, I'm going to die. It's as simple as that."   
  
He jerked his head to get his soaked bangs out of his eyes. "Well, I wasn't going to go down without a fight."  
  
Relena had to smile. "Was that a bit of humor there? It's too early for heatstroke…"  
  
"You wouldn't go down without a fight either." He let a moment settle between them before he returned to his task. Soon, Relena felt the far end of the raft hit something solid.   
  
Careful not to rock the raft too much, Heero handed her the paddle and crept on all fours across the yellow rubber surface. When he reached the end of it, he pulled his gun out of his holster. Taking a moment to breathe, he jumped off the raft and onto dry land.   
  
"Heero?"  
  
"Shh." With a soldier's trained eye, he examined the brush around him. As it nearly reached the level of his chest, it was a difficult task. The hand that held his gun was extended out in front of him; he used it to part the shrubbery and peer beyond it.   
  
"The water ends here," he reported a second later, and it was hard for him to keep the joy out of his voice. "It looks like we landed on a savanna."   
  
Relena couldn't help but wonder if that was preferable. Savannas mean lions, leopards, wild boars, not to mention snakes, bugs, and little to no shade. But she smiled, because it seemed to please Heero.   
  
He held out his hand to her, indicating that she should join him on the shore. She secured the strap of her carry-on over her shoulder, and grabbed hold of the trash bag full of supplies. "Toss it to me," he told her, and when she did and he had caught it, he gestured to her again. "Come on."   
  
She crawled down the length of the raft exactly as he had, feeling more and more secure the closer she got to him. He'd always been a source of safety, but now he was more like a lifeline. Her last lifeline. When she reached the edge, Relena swung one leg over the side and extended her hand, reaching for his.   
  
The crocodile leaped from the water without any warning, pointed jaws open to reveal broken rows of teeth. Relena heard the splash, Heero shouting her name, her own scream, the sound of a single bullet breaking the silence of the African morning.   
  
And then all she could do was feel. Heero's arms around her, her feet dragging as she was pulled away from the water. There wasn't any pain; she hadn't been bitten. Brush scraped against the sleeves of her sweater as they ran, stumbling much of the way.   
  
They emerged from the brush, but kept going, putting as much distance between them and the water hole as possible. It seemed like a lifetime to Relena before the world stopped spinning. At the firstsigns of Heero slowing down, Relena's legs gave out from underneath her and she dropped to the brown grass.   
  
Heero joined her, breathing heavily. His gun was still in his hand; for the first time in his life, he was grateful to the men who had turned him into an assassin. Had his bullet not gone exactly where he wanted it to, Relena might have been seriously wounded. Or even killed.   
  
"Relena." He reached for her. "Look at me, Relena."   
  
"We're going to die!" She buried her face in her hands as her sobs surfaced, tearing through her slender body. "We're going to die, Heero!"  
  
He grabbed her shoulders. "You keep thinking like that, and we will. Got it? Got it?!"  
  
Relena lowered her hands; tears and blood dripped down her throat. "It's too much. I can't…I can't do it."   
  
"I can't do it either." She stared at him, dumbfounded, and he continued, "But we can."   
  
"Heero…"  
  
"We left the raft behind; it's just as well, though. The crocs might tear it apart, but there will still be some that will catch a low flying aircraft's attention. We can't stay around waiting for that though."  
  
The touching moment had passed almost as quickly as it had come. "What are we going to do?"  
  
Heero looked around. The African savanna was grasslands flat, with only a very few trees dotting the landscape. But in the distance, he could see the dark triangles that indicated mountains. "We'll walk that way. Hopefully we'll find a road that will lead us to a village. If we're really lucky, they might have a communicator." He glanced back at her. "We saved the food and water. You've still got your toothpaste. The blanket will provide us shelter during the heat of the day. Really, Relena…we're already fairly lucky."   
  
She blinked back the last few tears. "I suppose so."  
  
"Don't cry anymore." His voice was almost tender. Relena held her breath, but released it when he continued, in a much harder tone, "You'll dehydrate yourself." He stood and helped her up. "If you have anything else useful in that bag of yours, now would be the time to tell me."  
  
Wiping her cheeks, Relena let the carry-on slide off her shoulder. She unzipped it with trembling hands and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen.   
  
"Good." Heero tilted his head up. The sun was gaining even more strength as it climbed across the sky. "We're going to need it."   
  
****  
  
To Be Continued 


	3. Chapter 3

****  
  
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.

Author's Notes:  Sorry for the delay.  Life got crazy.  Thank you for all the reviews, and I promise more sooner!!!  
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
They walked for hours, and had Heero not been there with her, Relena would have given up early into the trek. The savanna was beautiful, but in a desolate, inhospitable way. It was never far from her mind, the thought that people died here every day.   
  
The first signs of life, other than the crocodiles, came an hour into their journey when they spotted a herd of sleek gazelles grazing on the sparse patches of grass. Relena pointed them out as such, and blushed when Heero gave her the "you know too much useless information look." Was it her fault that she spent so much time at home watching nature shows? If he thought she was an info geek, perhaps he could take her out to dinner sometime. In a non-bodyguard capacity.  
  
Silence enveloped them again, and Relena found herself seriously regretting her choice in clothes. The formal blouse and business suit she'd worn for the speech had become almost thermal, trapping the heat and holding it against her skin. Heero seemed fine in his uniform although he shed the jacket at the same time they had slathered every exposed inch of their skin with sunscreen. She could see white streaks on the back of his neck where he hadn't managed to rub in all of the cream. Perhaps when they stopped to reapply, she should offer to help him.   
  
Of course, that might send him over the edge. If he couldn't stand talking to her, she doubted he'd be able to deal with her hands on his neck, massaging in sunscreen. He'd touched her twice since the crash, once to wipe blood off her face, and once to save her from a man-eating crocodile. Not exactly the stuff of a girl's dreams.  
  
Just when Relena thought she couldn't go another step, Heero pointed to a scraggly tree several yards ahead of them that offered the most shade they'd seen so far. "We'll stop there and wait out the heat of the day."   
  
Sinking down onto the hard earth wasn't exactly like sliding into a hot bubble bath, but it certainly felt wonderful. She sighed and leaned against the tree trunk. "At the risk of sounding like a wimp, my feet are killing me."  
  
Heero snorted, looking at her Prada loafers. "Not really ideal footwear for Africa."  
  
"I'm sorry. The next time I'm planning my outfit for the day, I will certainly remember to take into account that my plane might go down in the middle of nowhere, and I'll have to hike hundreds of miles."  
  
"Talking dehydrates you faster." He reached into the bag of supplies and handed her a bottle of water. "Drink half of this."   
  
Relena took the bottle with a puzzled frown. "Shouldn't we ration it?"  
  
"People have been found dead with full bottles of water. Rationing accomplishes nothing." He took a bottle for himself and settled back to drink.   
  
"Does the same theory apply to the food?"  
  
"Take what you want."   
  
She took the bag and rummaged through its contents. "Peanuts, crackers, and chocolates."  
  
"Were you hoping for a four-course meal?"  
  
Ignoring him, Relena took a packet of peanuts. "Are you going to eat?"  
  
He took a long sip of water. "Later."  
  
"You probably should now. We've both lost a lot of fluids in a very short time, and your body needs the salt to…"  
  
"I said 'later'."  
  
Biting the inside of her cheek, Relena ripped open the peanuts and dug in. Honey-roasted. There were worse things to have for lunch, she decided. After a moment of silent chewing, she looked around at their surroundings. "If you factor out the dangers of being stranded here, it's really quite spectacular." Heero said nothing. She swallowed and looked back at him. "I don't think I told you…thank you for saving my life back there."   
  
"I'm your bodyguard. I get paid to guard your body."   
  
"Of course." Suddenly, her appetite was gone. She put the little bag back into the bigger bag, took a sip of water, and began undoing the cuff buttons of her blouse.  
  
Heero sat up. "Don't do that."  
  
She started rolling the sleeves up. "I'll put lotion on, don't worry. And I think you can bear the hideous sight of my arms. Unless you'd like to carry me when I faint from the heat."  
  
"Malaria." He grabbed her arm and yanked the newly rolled sleeve down to cover her exposed flesh. "The less the mosquitoes have to bite, the better. Unless *you'd* like kidney failure and dementia."   
  
A long minute passed. Birds could be heard from somewhere off in the distance. "Look, Heero. While I appreciate that you are just doing your job, could you possibly consider for one moment that I'm very tired, very hot and very scared. I'm trying my best, and I don't think it's too much for me to ask that you try to bear this in mind."   
  
He kicked back another long drink of water. Some of the liquid escaped his mouth and slipped down his throat in shiny little rivers. Wiping his chin with the back of his hand, he gave her a cool look. "Should I not warn you when you're about to do something wrong?"   
  
"Never mind. Just…forget I said anything." She stood up and walked around to the other side of the slender tree, out of his eyesight.   
  
Heero shook his head. What the hell did she want from him? He was just as tired and just as hot as she was, only he wasn't letting his fear turn him into a babbling idiot. They weren't on some fantasy safari, and maybe he couldn't see the beauty of the landscape, considering that most of his energy was going into getting them across it intact.   
  
"Oh my god!!"   
  
He shot to his feet. "Relena, what's wrong?!"  
  
"Shh! Come here." Her head appeared around the tree trunk. "Quietly." Heero frowned. "Please?"  
  
Unable to say no to her, he moved around to her side of the tree. She took his arm instantly and pointed with her free hand. "Look."  
  
No more than an hundred feet away, a giraffe and her offspring were feeding from the tall bushes. The youngster stood only as high as its mother's front quarters, a perfect miniature copy.   
  
"I never thought I'd see one so close, let alone two!" Relena whispered. "Aren't they amazing?"  
  
He knew she wanted him to agree with her, and it would have been so easy. But he just couldn't, because in the very back of his mind he could only think one thing.   
  
If the prey was around, the predator couldn't be too far away.   
  
****  
  
With a steady hand, Quatre Winner signed a check, promising well over a hundred thousand credits to a safari company that would provide them with a prop jet, as well as a native guide, skilled in tracking and rescue missions. The money was nothing; quite frankly it wouldn't even put a minor dent in his finances. And even if it had, it would have been worth the expense to find Heero and Relena and the crew of their downed plane.   
  
Currently, he was waiting at the gate of the Johannesburg Spaceport for Duo Maxwell's shuttle to arrive from L2, having only just arrived in South Africa from L4 himself. Their braided friend had grabbed the first flight he could and now, less than twenty-four hours from the time their friends had gone missing, they were about to become a team once more. If only the circumstances hadn't been so dire.   
  
Trowa Barton approached the row of chairs with two cups of coffee in his hand. "You look like you could use this."  
  
It wasn't the most flattering thing the taller man had said to him in their years together, but Quatre took the coffee without complaint. "Where is Wufei?"  
  
"He had a phone call to make."   
  
Quatre nodded and sipped. "Awful stuff."   
  
"We're not likely to get much better in the jungle," Trowa reminded him.   
  
"True." He forced down another swallow. "Tell me something. Do you feel that they're still alive?"  
  
His lover lifted one muscled shoulder. "You're the feeler, Little One. Not me."  
  
"I feel that they are." Quatre closed his eyes. "I have to believe that I'm right."   
  
"Hey!!" an unmistakable voice shouted over the din of the spaceport. Both men looked towards the gate just in time to see Duo Maxwell saunter out from it, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, and his braid flying. They stood up as he jogged over to them. "Fancy meeting you two here." As he shook hands with Trowa, Duo winced. "Careful, man! I'm still recovering from that 'small, painless' series of shots they gave me before they'd let me get on the shuttle."   
  
Quatre patted his own forearm where he'd just as recently been vaccinated for yellow fever, hepatitis, rabies and typhoid, diseases that still ran rampant in the country, despite modern medicine. At least the vaccinations took effect immediately, or else they wouldn't have been allowed to make the rescue trip at all. "We're ready to go first thing tomorrow morning," he told Duo. "The jet and guide are waiting for us, loaded up with supplies. We'll spend most of tomorrow in the air, flying over Botswana."   
  
Duo shook his head, thoroughly satisfied with himself for regulating the task of organization and planning to Quatre. "The quicker we can get out there and find them…" He didn't need to finish the sentence. Everyone was all too aware of what might happen to their friends if they weren't found soon. "Has there been any news?"   
  
"Nothing," Trowa replied. "But at least they haven't found a wrecked plane."  
  
"No news is good news," Chang Wufei said, approaching them, his hands stuck deep in the pockets of his black pants. Duo held up his hand, looking an awful lot like he was about to slap his back. "Don't even think about it, Maxwell."   
  
Duo lowered his hand. "So…where's our hotel?"   
  
****  
  
When the sun began to drop out of the sky and dusk settled over the savanna, Heero began looking for a large tree with branches sturdy enough to hold both of them. He hadn't told Relena yet, but they would be spending the night above the ground, and he hoped that once she heard that lions were, for the most part, nocturnal predators, she wouldn't put up too much of a fuss.  
  
Instantly, he felt something almost akin to guilt. Relena hadn't done anything except make a few innocent errors, and he'd been treating her as though she were an infant all day. The truth was, all it took was one mistake out here, and you wouldn't live to make another. He had to take charge, whether she liked it or not. After all, he didn't figure she could think of him as any more of an asshole than she already did.   
  
As best he could figure it, they'd traveled only twelve or thirteen miles so far, with no signs of life other than antelope, gazelles, and Relena's giraffes. They hadn't even seen tire tracks. And no plans had flown overhead. It was an eerie thing, feeling like the rest of the world had disappeared, and only he and Relena were left.  
  
Eerie, but not unappealing.   
  
He spotted the perfect tree just as the round bottom of the sun touched the western horizon. Relena was lagging behind him; he turned to see her. "Can you make it another few yards?"   
  
"We're stopping for the night already?"  
  
"The last thing we want to do is walk around after dark." He pointed to the tree. "Your hotel for the night, Minister."  
  
Heero was getting punchy. This was not a good sign. Relena straightened her shoulders. "You think I've never roughed it   
before?"   
  
"I think that sleeping in a tent in the backyard of your family's five-acre mansion isn't 'roughing it.'"   
  
Relena's paced picked up as her anger grew. "Are there any more insults you care to toss my way? The day is drawing to a close, and I wouldn't want you to miss your quota." Apparently, she didn't want him to answer, and he wisely kept his mouth shut.  
  
When they reached the base of the tree, Heero quickly assessed the best side to scale it. "I'll help you up," he offered. It wasn't exactly an apology, but what did she expect from him? He was doing the best he could.   
  
"I don't want to seem like I'm questioning Heero Yuy, Great African Bushman, but aren't there things that can get to us in the trees?" She swallowed. "Like snakes?"  
  
"Most African snakes are ground snakes: adders, mambas…cobras. Like that one over there."   
  
Relena screamed and grabbed the lowest branch of the tree. With a boost from Heero, she pulled herself up onto it. "Oh my god, Heero, hurry up!!"  
  
"I was kidding."  
  
She stared down at him. "Just what the hell is wrong with you?!"  
  
"I had to get you up the tree somehow." He followed her up with the bag of supplies. "Keep going; we'll want to be as far off the ground as possible."   
  
Relena shook her head as she climbed, her tangled hair brushing over her shoulders. "If this is how you joke…don't bother. Please. I'd rather just talk to myself."   
  
When they were far enough up, Heero signaled to her to stop. She straddled a thick branch just a few inches higher than his own, her carry-on slung over her chest. "Try to get as comfortable as possible. You don't roll over in your sleep, do you?"  
  
She blinked. "I don't know. I don't think so."  
  
"Your boyfriends have never told you if you do?"  
  
It took her a long time to reply, and when she did, her voice was deadly quiet. "If you paid as much attention to me as you do to my safety, Heero, you'd know that I've never been in that kind of a relationship."   
  
He shifted on his branch. Her innocence hadn't escaped his notice; in fact, it was fairly prominent on his unspoken list of reasons to stay away from her. With a sigh, he reached into the supply bag. "Here. Take the blanket; it'll get cold soon. And your water."   
  
Relena snatched them out of his hands. "Won't you be cold? Oh, that's right. Your blood already is."   
  
With a packet of peanuts in one hand and a can of pineapple juice in the other, Heero settled in for the night. Dusk transitioned rapidly into darkness, and before too long, he couldn't even see Relena anymore. Somehow, it made it easier to talk to her…without the distraction of her button nose, or the fullness of her bottom lip, or the way her forehead crinkled when she was thinking something over. He took a deep breath.   
  
"I think the jet was sabotaged." He could hear her gasp. "It was in pristine condition. Fresh out of the factory. Nothing should have gone wrong with it." Heero shook his head. "The whole thing was just a little too convenient."   
  
"You mean…" There was a tremble in her voice. "Because of where we went down?" He nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "Heero, who would want to…to kill me?"   
  
He took a sip of juice. "Trust me when I say that once we get back to civilization, I'm going to find out."   
  
Something in his tone warmed the very center of her stomach. Biting her lip to hide her smile, even though he couldn't see it, Relena began unfolding the blanket, careful to keep her balance on the branch as she did so. It was best to keep busy, she figured, than dwell on the fact that someone had tried to murder her.  
  
She stopped suddenly upon hearing something from the ground below. "Heero?"  
  
"I hear it, too," he said. The heavy pad of footsteps on hard dirt…a low growl. Heero reached into his bag and pulled out one flashlight. Flipping it on, he trained the beam of light down to investigate.   
  
Their eyes glowed just like the crocodiles, but the two lionesses passing by their tree didn't seem bothered by their presence. And as Heero moved the light on, he could see why. An antelope was engaged in some nighttime grazing in the grasses nearby. The cover of night was perfect for the huntresses. Heero quickly flipped the flashlight off. Nature was going to take its course, but he and Relena didn't need to see it.   
  
"Take my hand," he told her, groping around until he felt her slender fingers.   
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Shh." Heero entwined their fingers. "If we can't see each other, we're going to have to feel each other."   
  
Relena looked down. His hand was warm and calloused, and hers fit into it perfectly. Were it not for the sounds of the antelope bounding away with the lionesses hot on its tail, it might have been possible for her to imagine that the situation was much more romantic.  
  
****  
  
To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me.  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the feedback, as usual. :::Big Smile::: Hope you keep sticking with the story!  
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
"Report."  
  
"Sir, everything went according to plan, as you've presumably heard on the news. The jet went down according to schedule and while they might not be advertising it yet, everyone on board is assumed dead."   
  
"Assumed dead is a long way from officially dead."   
  
"Yes, but sir…even if someone did survive the crash, no one could make it very long out there."   
  
"Hmm. What's this I hear about a private search party?"  
  
"I…um…I haven't heard anything about that. A private search party, you say?"  
  
"Started out of Johannesburg this morning. How can you possibly be on top of the situation and not know anything about this?"   
  
"Well…I…"  
  
"Stop babbling. I have no time to hear excuses. Assemble a party. Head out immediately for the estimated crash site before this half-assed rescue team stumbles on to it. I want confirmation that the Peacecraft bitch is dead. And if you find any evidence to the contrary, track her down and kill her."   
  
"Anything else, sir?"   
  
"You have your instructions. Go."  
  
****  
  
Relena woke up wanting two things: a hot shower and an even hotter cup of coffee. What she got was to see Heero's face immediately and a piece of chocolate that he pressed into her hand.   
  
Altogether, not a bad alternative.   
  
"Good morning," she said, taking her breakfast from him.   
  
He nodded, his usual reply to such greetings. "When you're ready, we'll get going."   
  
Relena unwrapped her chocolate and bit into it as she watched him tear into the uniform jacket he'd been carrying with him since he abandoned in the morning before. "What are you doing?"  
  
Once he had a dark olive green strip of material in his hand, he wet it with a bit of their precious water supply. "It's time we cleaned ourselves up. We should be grateful the scent of blood hasn't attracted predators yet."  
  
"Unless you count the two lions last night." She swallowed and licked her lips. "Would you like some help?"  
  
Heero looked at her for a long moment. His handsome face was marred with several cuts and bruises that she was just now noticing. "Fine," he agreed, shortly.   
  
She took the cloth from him and carefully rearranged herself on the branch. There was just enough pre-dawn light for her work by. Relena reached out and gently brushed the wet material across a dried patch of blood on his stubbled cheek.   
  
"We were lucky," she said after a moment. "I'm sure I'll never know why we walked away from that crash."   
  
Heero was rigid, motionless as she cleaned his face. "No, you won't."  
  
"Maybe it was more fate than luck." He said nothing, and Relena tilted her head to one side, watching him. "Do you believe in fate?"  
  
"My beliefs are irrelevant."   
  
"Listen, I don't care what you believe in. You can believe in Bigfoot for all I care. But I really would like you to talk to me. I spend every waking minute of my life talking to people; I'm going into withdrawal."  
  
He closed his eyes as she ran the cloth over them. Her touch was a forbidden luxury. "I would think you'd enjoy the reprieve."   
  
Relena pulled her hand back, having mostly finished her job. "Yes, but Heero…you should know by now that you're the one person in the world I actually want to talk to." There was a long silence between them, as silent, at least, as the African dawn could be. "Will you help me now?"  
  
He took the slightly bloody cloth from her and applied fresh water to it, trying to keep his movements as steady as possible. Perspiration had done away with a lot of the blood on her face, but the cut was still open and ugly. It was going to take more than a piece of wet uniform to fix her up to his satisfaction.   
  
Reaching into their precious bag of supplies, he pulled out the first aid kit. It contained antiseptic bandages, but only a handful. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any cause to use them after this.   
  
Relena let out a little gasp when he pressed the little medicated wet-nap to her wound. "It stings," she explained.   
  
"It's working, then." His fingers brushed against her bare skin, and he had to wonder if only he felt the shock. Touching Relena was as forbidden as being touched by her; even after so many years of training himself to remain cold around her, she could still affect him so much.   
  
Crash landing in the African wilderness was turning out to be a pain in his ass.   
  
"There," he said a moment later, after securing a bandage over the wound. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"   
  
She shook her head. "You? And don't lie."   
  
"I dislocated my shoulder in the crash," Heero found himself admitting. "Popped back in place on the raft while you were sleeping."  
  
"Shouldn't you still keep it motionless?" Without realizing it, she put her hands on his arm. "Let me carry the bag, Heero. Give your arm a rest."   
  
"I can handle it."  
  
"You don't have to do everything yourself, Heero," Relena quietly reminded him.  
  
Heero looked down at the ground. "Let's start out now. Before the sun gets too hot."   
  
It would be useless to argue with him, so Relena simply let him help her climb down the tree. She landed on legs woozy from a night spend straddling a branch. Heero was already a few paces ahead of her when she called out to him. "Heero!" He turned back around. "I need to…um…" She pointed to the bushes, hoping he would get the message.   
  
He did, if the unprecedented sudden coloring in his cheeks was any indication. Turning his back to her, he cleared his throat. "Um…as I said before. When you're ready."   
  
Relena put a hand to her forehead, almost as embarrassed as him. This particular problem hadn't come up the day before, perhaps because she'd barely drunk anything in those first twenty-four hours. She'd often imagined being stranded on a desert island with Heero. Basic human functions such as this had never factored into her fantasies.   
  
When her business was taken care of, she rejoined him. The blush still hadn't quite faded from her cheeks, but he had apparently recovered. "I want to cover more ground today than we did yesterday."  
  
"I won't lag behind," Relena muttered, dryly.  
  
"That's not what I…" Heero stopped and looked up at the pink-orange sky. "Look, I don't talk, because I'm not good at it. I never have the right words, so I just…keep quiet. You were right yesterday; it's better if I don't even try."  
  
She put her hands on her hips. "There's a tremendous difference between joking about cobras and having a normal conversation. Honestly…I just like hearing your voice. No matter what you choose to say."  
  
He lowered his chin in order to look into her eyes. "Why? Why me, Relena?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure we get to choose who we fall in love with. But even if we do, I still would have picked you, Heero." Relena shrugged. "Just because."   
  
"You'd be happier if you'd picked someone else."   
  
"Don't you mean *you* would be?"  
  
Heero shook his head. "I don't think that's what I said."  
  
"Then what are you saying?"  
  
He hesitated for what seemed like half of forever. Finally, he turned and started walking.   
  
Her heart crumpled a little, but it was a tough organ. "Keeping quiet again, Heero?" she wondered out loud. She watched him walk away, a dark spot against the brightly colored horizon. "Or are the words just not what I want to hear?"  
  
****  
  
The first day of their mission had been a complete failure. If the plane had crashed anywhere in Zimbabwe, they had somehow missed it. Of course, it was very hard to search the ground closely from the height of a prop-jet, Duo reasoned. Still he supposed he'd had high expectations, given that all four pairs of eyes searching the savanna had been highly trained ones.   
  
They rested the night at the safari company's extensive lodge on the Chobe River. The long day had done Quatre in; he'd retired to the room he was sharing with Trowa as soon as they'd all downed a quick meal of local specialties, most of which Duo hadn't been able to identify. Wufei and Trowa sat on the porch, smoking cigars; he hadn't pegged them for smokers, but whatever floated their boats.   
  
As for himself, he was busy hooking up a portable communicator. He just hoped the satellites were all working right, and he could get through to Hilde on L2. A few minutes later, when her pretty face appeared on the screen, he grinned widely. "Babe! God damn, I miss you!!"   
  
"I miss you, too, sweetie. I didn't know if you'd have communicator access." She was wearing his favorite nightgown, the blue satin one with the low V-neckline. The inside curves of her breasts were visible and he could feels his mouth start to water. Hilde snapped her fingers. "Hey, Maxwell! My eyes are up here."  
  
He blinked. "Sorry!"   
  
"How did it go today?"  
  
"To put it mildly, it sucked." Duo sighed loudly. "There's just so much empty space here, babe. I had no idea! Africa always looks kind of small on the map. And purple in some areas!"   
  
Hilde covered her mouth, but he could tell that she was giggling at him behind her hand. "I'm sure you'll have more luck tomorrow."   
  
"I hope so." He paused. "I wish you were here."   
  
"Me too."   
  
Duo sat up a bit straighter. "You know what would help me sleep tonight?"   
  
Hilde shook her head. "Haven't we learned this lesson already, Duo? Communicator sex is never as sexy or as easy as it seems to be."   
  
"C'mon!! I'm out here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by guys!! I probably ate monkey meat for dinner tonight, and I have to sleep in mosquito netting. The least you could do is flash a little something to give me good dreams!!"  
  
She looked to both of her sides for a moment, as if checking to make sure she was alone in the house. Her fingers crept up to the straps of her nightgown and with a quick motion, she pulled, baring her breasts.   
  
"Oh yeah, baby. Take it all…"  
  
Hilde tugged her nightgown back into place. "Leave 'em wanting more. That's my motto." Duo's groans of protest were loud and long. "Whiner. Think of how great it'll be when you get back here. Not only will you have found Heero and Relena, but you'll be all frustrated and fun." She winked.   
  
"If we find Heero and Relena."   
  
"You will." Her voice sobered. "Duo, did I tell you how proud I am of you for doing this?"  
  
He shook his head. "You're proud of me?"   
  
"Always. But even more so now. Not many people would uproot their lives to save someone else's." Hilde kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to her screen. "I love you so much."  
  
Duo imitated the gesture. "Love you, too."   
  
"Go to bed. Don't let the bugs bite. Literally."   
  
He smiled, the boyish grin that made her stomach flip. "I promise. I only like biting when it's you doing it."   
  
She arched an eyebrow seductively before shutting down communication, and Duo slipped underneath the netting, stiff, but happy. He would find Heero and Relena and bring them home safely. They deserved to have what he and Hilde had. Everyone did.  
  
****  
  
To Be Continued 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me. Period, end of sentence.  
  
Author's Notes: Everyone asked for it, and here's it is;) Thanks so much for taking an interest in my story. I hope you keep liking it. Hehe.   
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
The fourth day dawned just the same as the ones before it, with a brilliant display of colors in the sky, and complete silence from Heero. Relena barely tasted her breakfast of peanuts and tomato juice; she wondered how long a person could survive on such a limited diet. The juices took care of a lot of vitamins and the peanuts were nothing but protein, but wouldn't they need other things like dairy and carbohydrates pretty soon? Had Heero given that any thought, or was he only concerned about keeping wild animals away?   
  
She didn't even want to think about what she must smell like or what state her hair was in. Fortunately, with the supplies in her bag, they'd been able to at least rinse their mouths out with toothpaste and water a couple of times. She had makeup and a brush, too, but she was afraid of what Heero might say if she pulled them out and tried to fix herself up. Would she be playing into his low opinion of her if she continued to care about her physical appearance in such an extreme situation?   
  
It was better not to risk it. For all of his faults, Relena still loved him.  
  
"Damn it," she cursed her under her breath.   
  
They started out once again after taking care of their individual morning routines. The mountains seemed to be getting closer, but instead of reassuring her, the fact that they still remained out of reach only made Relena's feet drag a little more every day. She watched Heero as he walked; his back was ram-rod straight, his steps were confident and he never seemed to tire.   
  
Robot. Had to be.   
  
Heero could feel her watching him, but refused to acknowledge her. Every time he looked at Relena, his chest hurt. She was so exhausted and there was nothing he could do about it. How she kept going when she looked as though she might drop any second was just a testimony to how much strength that beautiful body hid.   
  
Throughout the day, he pushed on without letting up, and he knew it was wearing her down. But with every step, they came closer to safety. He would find it for her. He would bring her back to the world in one piece, and then, when it was all over, he could go back to his lonely existence. And she could go on with her life.   
  
Wiping sweat and a thin layer of freshly-applied sunscreen off of his forehead, Heero shook off that unpleasant thought. Part of him wished she'd say something, anything. He'd never spent so much time alone with anyone, even when he'd been locked in prison cells with Duo and Wufei during the war. Duo had chattered non-stop and it had been annoying. Wufei had never said a word and it had been stifling.   
  
Relena alternated between the two. She'd talked a lot in the beginning as they walked, telling Heero all about her brother and his wife who lived in complete isolation on Mars. They were expecting a child in a few months, that was the last news she'd received from them, and Relena was overjoyed at the prospect of being an aunt, even if she'd never get to see the baby.   
  
She told him about her hesitations going into the presidential elections. She wanted the position and felt she could do a good job, but she was worried that her limited private life would effectively vanish, leaving her open and exposed to the public.   
  
And she occasionally mentioned the men she briefly dated, unaware that Heero already knew absolutely everything about each man, having run a full background check on them before Relena even accepted their invitations. They were all chumps, according to her, but he already knew that, too. Did she actually think he'd let her date anyone who was good enough for her? Perhaps that wasn't fair of him, but Heero truly didn't give a damn. She'd find someone on her own eventually; he didn't have to hand her the perfect man on a silver plate.  
  
But her one-sided conversations were becoming rare, and on the fourth day, she barely spoke at all except to ask him for water. He gave it to her, but hesitantly. They were running low.   
  
He looked at the mountains. *Hold on, Relena. We're going to make it.*  
  
****  
  
It was late on the second day of their search when Trowa spotted the yellow rubber raft. They were flying low over Botswana on their way back to their base camp, but rest was put on indefinite hold when he made the discovery.   
  
"Land the plane!" Duo ordered their native pilot.   
  
"It will be difficult," the burly man told him.   
  
"Do it," Wufei told him.   
  
They landed a half-mile away from their destination, and had to hike back. The guide went first with Duo following and the others just behind him. The man seemed to know what precautions to take as they approached the edge of the marsh; he instructed each of them to have their guns within reach, ready to fire.   
  
And when he pushed back the brush and they saw the raft, Duo understood why.   
  
The raft had been deflated by several long, jagged gashes on its surface, and had somehow become a temporary sunbathing location for a half-dozen African crocodiles. Duo bit into his cheek. "Oh shit…"  
  
"The plane would have gone under the water," Wufei said.   
  
Trowa's voice was grave. "That's the sort of raft that would have come from the jet. Someone got out, but…"  
  
"Goonya. Nkitegeera," the guide said in reverent Bantu to no one in particular. He took off his sun helmet and placed it over his heart. "I am sorry for the loss of your friends."   
  
Duo closed his eyes, his fists balling up against his thighs. It couldn't be true! How could it be fair that someone survived the crash, only to find a much worse death at the jaws of a wild animal? And to think that person or persons could have been Heero and Relena…  
  
"Shit," he repeated. If they hadn't been so close to them, he might have found something sharp to chuck at the crocodiles' pointed heads. "It's not fair!!"   
  
"Duo…calm down." Quatre put a hand on his shoulder from behind. "I don't believe they're dead."  
  
His eyes shot open, but the violet centers were doubtful. "One of your feelings?"  
  
"There is that," the blond man admitted. "And there's also this." He pointed to the muddy ground upon which they stood.   
  
Tire tracks. Duo blinked several times before kneeling down to get a better look. "They're fresh. Not even a day old, I'd say." He followed the double, zig-zagged pattern some sort of Jeep had left behind. "They lead off into the savanna."   
  
"Shouldn't be too hard to track," Wufei noted.   
  
"But how did they get here?" Trowa wondered out loud. "Even Relena's political clout isn't enough to ensure that a Jeep is standing by, waiting to rescue her from a plane crash."   
  
Duo shook his head. "I don't know. But I have a feeling that if we follow the tracks…" He stood back up. "We'll find someone at the end of them."   
  
****  
  
Relena was positive that she couldn't take another step, and if she somehow managed to, she'd faint before she advanced any further. The days were getting longer and longer. Just as their water supply was getting shorter and shorter. He pushed since morning, only allowing a small break during the very worst heat of the day  
  
"Heero!" she called out, bending over slightly at the waist. In only a few days, she'd lost so much weight that if she put a hand to her side she could clearly feel the bumps of her ribs. "Heero, please. Let's stop for the night."   
  
He looked back at her, his face stony. "You can make it a little bit further."   
  
They say that everyone has a breaking point. Right then, as she looked at his impatient expression, Relena reached hers. "That's it." She let her bag slide off her shoulder; it landed with a soft thump on the brown grass. "I refuse to take another step, Heero Yuy."   
  
The words escaped before he could hold them back. "Don't be a brat."  
  
"A brat?!" Her eyes grew wider than he'd ever seen them. "You think this me being a brat?! Oh, no, no, no, Heero dear. I haven't even begun to show you a brat. You have no idea what I'm capable of. I grew up in palaces and mansions; I had servants wait on me hand and foot. For all of that, I think I've come out pretty well adjusted. But if you really want, I can make your life absolutely miserable! Now, either we stop for the night, or you just go ahead without me, because I will not be walking anymore until the sun comes up!" She picked up her bag, spun on her worn-down heel, and marched several yards to an appropriate tree.   
  
Heero stared at her for a long moment as she tried to get a foothold on a low branch. It was unbelievable. She had snapped. The anger that made her all the more attractive was usually directed towards her political opponents. But this time, it had been aimed straight at him. And he didn't like it at all.  
  
A scowl replaced the bewilderment on his face. With furious, determined strides, he followed her to the tree and grabbed her arm, pulling her back down to the ground just as she had managed to boost herself up. "Don't you think that absolutely everything I'm doing is necessary to save both of our lives?!"   
  
"I know that you wouldn't give a damn about my life if I didn't have a title attached to my name," she shouted back at him. "Let go of me."  
  
But he didn't. In fact, his grip only increased. "Why do you have to make everything so damn difficult for me?"   
  
"What am I making difficult for you, Heero? Finding some village that might not even exist before we run out of water? In that case, I solemnly swear not to drink a drop until we find it. Now, let me…"  
  
Heero cut her off. "You know what I'm talking about."   
  
They stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Relena shook her head. "You're going to have to find the words, Heero. I can't give them to you."  
  
His chin dropped to his chest and his fingers eased up a bit. "Damn it, Relena. Damn you…"  
  
She felt the onslaught of tears, and had to get away from him before they spilled over. "Please let me go," she whispered. He did; his arm dropped back to his side and he continued to stare at the ground. Relena blinked continuously as she climbed the tree, but by the time she found a large branch to rest on, she couldn't hold them back anymore.   
  
He could hear her softly crying. Heero rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. His ability to hurt her amazed him. Every sob cut deeper and deeper into his chest until he couldn't take it anymore.   
  
Lifting his head, Heero pulled himself up into the tree. He abandoned the plastic bag that now mostly contained trash on one branch, and made his way to the one she sat on. Keeping his balance with one hand on the branch above them, Heero sat in front of her.   
  
"Relena."  
  
Her eyes were red and wet with anger and hurt, but still so beautiful. "I think everything that ever needs to be said between us has been. There are no more words, Heero."  
  
"No. Just because I can't say them doesn't mean…" Heero trailed off.   
  
"Doesn't mean what?"  
  
He took a breath. "It doesn't mean they're not there."   
  
She wiped at her cheeks. "I don't know that."  
  
"Then…" Heero leaned forward. "I'll show you."   
  
Relena's eyes closed when his lips touched hers. They were awkward, like he'd never done this before. Of course, it was quite likely that he hadn't. She had, but it had never been like this. Never been so warm, so perfect. Relena kissed him back, showing him through action exactly what she wanted. He'd always been a quick learner, and within only moments of their first kiss, he already had her whimpering for more.   
  
Heero pulled back and watched her face as her eyes slowly opened. She smiled at him, a little private look that he instantly swore no other man would ever get to see. *Mine,* he thought, kissing her again, deeper and more insistent. Her arms slid around his neck and he pressed her against the tree, more to be closer to her than to keep them balancing on the branch.  
  
He kissed her until he couldn't see her face anymore. And when night enveloped them, he held onto her, his anchor in the storm of his own emotions.   
  
****  
  
To Be Continued 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer:  Characters do not belong to me.

Author's Notes:  Muchos gracias, mi amigos!!!  I always appreciate the kind comments and helpful feedback.  

****

Your Wildest Dreams

by Kristen Elizabeth

****  
  
"We're closing in on her, sir. She's with someone, presumably her bodyguard; we're tracking two sets of footsteps. It's not easy, but we're making progress."  
  
"When do you think you'll have her?"  
  
"Tomorrow. The Foreign Minister will be dead before the sun goes down again."   
  
****

He was awake a long time before she opened her eyes, but for the first time in his life, he didn't feel the need to get up, get going, or stay focused on his mission. She was his mission, and all Heero wanted to do was to keep holding Relena in his arms and watch her sleep.   
  
She was beautiful, but he'd always known that. What he hadn't known was how soft and sweet her mouth was, and how when he was kissing her, he couldn't even remember his own name. Now she was securely tucked up in his lap, sleeping peacefully with her cheek resting on his collarbone, the same position she'd been in all night.   
  
Heero looked down at her as though he were really looking at her for the first time. Why had he fought so long against this? Why had he denied himself the warmth she'd been silently offering for years? Suddenly, he wanted to be out of the tree and in a more comfortable location…like a bed…where they could finish what they'd barely begun.   
  
"Heero," she murmured in her sleep. She was smiling, lost in some dream of him.   
  
In the midst of pressing a kiss into her tangled hair, Heero was suddenly, irrationally and inexplicably mad at himself.   
  
What right did he have to think such a thing? His hands had shed too much blood to ever touch her as a lover. To be with her was to defile her; he'd come dangerously close last night when he'd felt her delicate breasts pressing against his chest. How he'd wanted to feel her, to stroke her, to give her pleasure even in such an unsuitable location. But he'd stopped himself, and settled for just being allowed to kiss her. Anything else was beyond his reach.   
  
She deserved a man whose hands were clean enough to leave no stain behind on her. But now that he'd let go of what was in his heart, not in words, but in action, it was going to take a lot more than silence to dissuade her…and to convince her that he was not the man   
she should be dreaming about.   
  
So when Relena stirred a few minutes later and lifted her head from his chest, he turned a cool cheek to her when she went to kiss him.  
  
"Heero?" The second time she said his name was a question, and a worried one at that.  
  
"This was a mistake," he heard himself tell her.   
  
He didn't have to look at her to know she'd gone completely pale. "A mistake?"   
  
"That's right." Heero turned his head and met her pained expression with a blank one. "Life threatening circumstances often lead to extremely inappropriate situations between two people."   
  
Relena's eyes lowered and darted back and forth as she tried to process his words. "Our kissing was…an inappropriate mistake?"  
  
He looked away again before twin tears slipped down her pink cheeks. "I'm your bodyguard. And you're my assignment. There isn't anything else between us."   
  
"That's not…that's not what you said last night."  
  
"I didn't say anything last night."   
  
"But…"  
  
"Could you move off my lap so we can get going?"   
  
Relena pushed away from him, shaky with shock. Her tears were steady rivers down her face. How could she still be alive when her heart had just been ripped from her chest? It was a mystery. At the same time she wanted to scream at him, to hit him, to make him hurt, she desperately wanted to crawl into a hole and bury herself in it, to never see him again, to be allowed to die in peace.   
  
Heero landed on the ground and stood still for a moment. "Are you coming?" She was silent as she came down the tree, making no noise as she slipped off the lowest branch. He reached into the now worn and torn plastic bag for their last full bottle of water. "Drink some of this."  
  
"I'm not thirsty." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, but there was steel behind it.   
  
"Relena, just drink the damn…"  
  
"No." Straightening her shoulders, she walked ahead of him and turned around to look him straight in the eye. "You don't get to give orders to me. Never again." She started walking again, but stopped after only a moment to address him one last time, "The mistake wasn't yours. It was mine…for thinking that if I loved you enough, you'd learn how to love me back. So, thank you, Heero." Relena swallowed. "For making me grow up."  
  
She continued on her way, desperately trying to convince herself that she no longer cared if he was behind her or not.  
  
****  
  
It took only until the morning after their discovery for Quatre to have the search party back out on the savanna with two additional guides and enough supplies to last for a month. Starting from the water hole, they made their way north in a caravan of three safari vehicles. The tracks weren't hard to follow; whoever had made them obviously wasn't worried about being tracked.   
  
Speculation as to who left the tracks behind ranged from the practical (Wufei's theory that another search party had found the raft and taken the logical path towards the mountains to catch up to any survivors who were on foot) to the ridiculous (Duo's suggestion that Heero might have built a car out of parts salvaged from the jet and could be currently driving himself and Relena to safety). They wouldn't know until they caught up, and for that reason, they pushed the Jeeps to the limit, stopping only when absolutely necessary.   
  
They took sleeping shifts at night, with at least two men awake at all times, perched on top of the vehicles to keep the watch with a high-powered search light and an automatic weapon. Duo's first shift was at three a.m., and he was not at all happy with Trowa when the taller man woke him up at 2:55.   
  
"Five minutes is sacred sleeping time," he mumbled, crawling out of the SUV's backseat.   
  
Trowa shrugged and took his place, curling up in the blanket Duo had just occupied. "There's still some coffee up there. Goodnight." He closed the door as soon as Duo had hoisted himself onto the car's hood.   
  
Duo sat Indian-style on the metal roof, fighting a serious urge to bounce up and down and make sleeping as difficult for Trowa as possible. It would be immature, he told himself. But oh so much fun.   
  
The other two cars formed a miniature circle with his; he swung his light over to them to see the other man on shift. It was one of the guides, Njanu. Duo nodded at the man and waved. "Anything out there?" he asked  
  
"Quiet," the guide told him in very British English. "In Africa, we are never alone."   
  
Duo blinked. "Right. Of course."  
  
The man's smile was wide and white in the moon's weak light. "Keep your gun handy, muzungu."   
  
This effectively ended the conversation, leaving Duo to wonder what exactly he had just been called. He didn't have much time to ponder this, however, as his training-enhanced senses picked up on movement behind him. Whipping around, he moved the light back and forth, up and down, searching for the source of it.   
  
The beam of light illuminated something huge and grey. Duo kept the light moving across more haze-colored flesh until he found huge, triangular ears, beady black eyes, two tusks, and finally, a long, curved trunk.  
  
"Holy crap!"   
  
"Tembo," the guide identified the creature in his own language, laughing when Duo leaned back, startled. "Turn off the light. It is a male, and it may see you as a threat."   
  
Duo did as he was instructed; the last thing he wanted was to get into a territorial match with a bull elephant. "They just walk around like that at night?"  
  
"They have no fear of predators. They are safer than us with our guns."   
  
He kept watching the huge, dark blob as it moved towards their circle of cars.  "Um…should I be worried that it's coming over here?"  
  
"Do not panic."  
  
"I'm not panicking, I just…" Duo stopped. The elephant was now no more than five feet away from him. "Okay, wow…that's some seriously funky smell it's got." He waved his hand in front of his face.   
  
"Musk," the guide explained, clearly very amused. "The Masai believe it has magic, the magic to help conceive babies."  
  
Duo's nose crinkled up. He and Hilde had talked about wanting children in the future, but he couldn't even imagine wanting one badly enough to involve elephant musk in an otherwise pleasurable process. "That's just…wrong."  
  
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. It is not for us to judge, yes?"   
  
The elephant moved off awhile later, having lost interest in the cars and the men perched on top of them. Duo released a breath. He'd be smelling that scent for the rest of his life, but it had been a close experience that probably very few people ever got to have.   
  
A moment later, the SUV's door opened and Trowa poked his head out. "Tell me I just didn't see an elephant ass outside my window."  
  
Duo leaned over the side of the car and grinned down at him. "Welcome to Africa. Muzungu."   
  
****  
  
Heero was trapped in a hell he had created for himself.  
  
He had wanted to discourage her love, to make it easier for her to forget about him. He just hadn't expected it to happen so swiftly.   
  
She walked like a woman possessed without a word about her feet or the hot sun. She said nothing about the baby antelope feeding from its mother a dozen yards away from them; the day before, it would have delighted her.   
  
Relena had shut down. He had shut her down. And now he would have given away their last bottle of water to hear her voice.   
  
This was his hell. And he had no one but himself to blame for it.  
  
She tried to keep a good distance between them, but he wasn't so far gone into his self-loathing to allow that. He would allow her to walk ahead, but he was no more than five feet behind her at any given time, ready to be at her side if she needed his assistance.   
  
Not that she'd ever voluntarily ask for it again. She'd made it quite clear that it was time she put him out of her thoughts. That's what he had wanted. Wasn't it?   
  
When they had been walking for a good five hours, Relena stopped. "We'll rest there," she said in a neutral tone that left no room for him to argue, pointing to a shady place underneath a scraggly tree.   
  
He followed her over to the place she had picked out and watched her sit down on a large, flat rock. She reached into her bag, pulled out the nearly empty bottle of sunscreen, and began to reapply.   
  
"Relena. Will you drink now?"  
  
She smoothed lotion onto her face and throat. "Save the water."   
  
"You're going to make yourself sick." Heero bit his tongue to keep from adding a quiet, *I'm not worth it.*  
  
"Then so be it." With her feet still on the ground, Relena lay back on the rock, using their blanket as a pillow, and closed her eyes.   
  
Completely frustrated, he threw the supply bag onto another, smaller rock, and folded his arms, looking off into the distance to avoid watching the swell of her breast rise and fall. How was he ever going to rectify the damage he'd done in one careless moment? If it even needed to be rectified at all.   
  
Something deep inside told him that it did. It was a gut instinct. Hadn't he been trained to follow his instincts?   
  
Heero sighed and after a long moment, glanced back at Relena. What he saw made his blood nearly stop pumping.   
  
"Relena." He forced himself to take a breath. "Don't move a muscle. There's a snake at your feet."   
  
She lifted herself up onto her elbows. "How stupid do you think I am to fall for your snake-humor twi…" She stopped when she felt the length of the snake slide across the exposed flesh of her foot. "Oh my god. Heero…"  
  
"Stay still." He reached for his gun, a cold sweat breaking out along his forehead and stubbled upper lip. The eight-foot snake, a cobra as he could tell from the extra flaps of skin on either side of its head, seemed to find Relena as attractive as he did; it dipped   
down to explore around her ankle.   
  
He had to get its attention elsewhere if he was going to get a clear shot at its head. But if he annoyed it enough, it wouldn't hesitate to bite Relena. Heero licked his lips. "Don't move, no matter what happens."   
  
She nodded tightly. Her entire body was completely frozen.   
  
With a stray branch in one hand and his gun in the other, Heero approached the snake from Relena's right side. "Have you ever heard the story of Rikki Tikki Tavi?" he asked her.   
  
"Not the right time…to get chatty," Relena whispered.   
  
"It's about a mongoose in India who takes on two cobras to protect his owners." Heero slowly moved the branch along the ground, closer and closer to Relena's feet, where the snake seemed content to curl up forever. At least the damn thing had good taste. "And he wins. Do you know why?"   
  
"No." Her voice was barely audible.   
  
"Because…" The branch hit the sole of Relena's shoe and the snake flicked out its tongue, sensing it. "Riki Tiki Tavi was smarter…" The cobra slowly began to slide towards the branch, until its head cleared Relena's foot by several inches. Heero cocked his gun. "And   
quicker."   
  
He took his shot with all the confidence of a trained assassin, and under any other circumstances, it would have worked. But no man is perfect. The bullet missed the cobra's head and instead grazed one of its hood flaps.   
  
Relena screamed when the snake hissed in pain and rose up, extending those flaps into a broad hood. Heero had no time to react to this sudden change before the snake lunged for him.   
  
The cobra's fangs broke through the material of his uniform shirt and sank into the arm he instinctively threw up to protect himself. Heero grunted; the grunt turned into a strangled cry of pain when the snaked backed off, tearing the bite wound further.  
  
Relena was on her feet by then, watching the whole thing as if it was in slow motion. In reality, it happened within the space of few seconds. And she was helpless to stop it. The snake hissed again, but retreated, still standing up right nearly two feet in the air, posed for another strike.   
  
And then, just as quickly as the attack had happened, a second shot cracked through the air, and the cobra's head exploded. Its body writhed for a few moments before curling up in death.   
  
Heero sat on the ground, clutching his bleeding wound. Already he could feel painful, burning stings, as sure sign that the bite hadn't been superfluous. He ignored it, however, and followed Relena's startled gaze to see who exactly had come to their rescue.   
  
Five native men in western clothes had snuck up on them without notice; one man's gun still smoked. A sixth man approached, unarmed, but clearly in charge.   
  
"Foreign Minister Peacecraft?" he addressed Relena.   
  
She squinted in the glare of the sun and blinked back the fine sheen of tears in her eyes. "There isn't any time for formalities!" She ran to Heero's side. "He needs help!!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Foreign Minister." With a snap of his fingers, the five men raised their guns and pointed them all at Relena. "We're not on a rescue mission."  
  
****

To Be Continued


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me. No siree.   
  
Author's Notes: Sorry it's taken awhile to get out. I've had some health crap slowing me down, but it's all good, and updates should come faster from now on. Thanks for everything!!   
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
Perhaps if it had been the first time she stared down the barrel of a gun, Relena might have panicked. But it wasn't, and all she did was lift her eyes to look at the gunmen's leader. She put two and two together quickly, and calmly asked him, "Are you part of the group who's trying to assassinate me?"   
  
"Beauty *and* brains…always a good combination. Although…" He gestured to her dirty face and hair. "The beauty is questionable right now." The man crossed his arms. "Let's not prolong this, Foreign Minister."   
  
She looked down at Heero. His skin was damp, but so suddenly pale. Blood soaked his uniform sleeve; he let it flow to get as much venom out as possible, she presumed. Still, she knew her stuff from those nature shows. A cobra bite could kill in a matter of hours. They locked stares, and it only took Relena a moment to decide what her next move would be. Heero needed help if he was going to live. Nothing else mattered.   
  
"You've obviously gone to a great deal of trouble to ensure my death," Relena began. "Another moment of your time isn't going to inconvenience you." She took Heero's hand. "I have one last request."   
  
"You're wrong. We don't have time for this."   
  
Relena's eyes narrowed. "Even the lowliest of prisoners is granted a final request."   
  
The man sighed with much impatience. "What do you want? And make it quick."   
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Heero's gun just behind his body where it had landed when the snake attacked him. She wasn't fool enough to think that she could reach it without being stopped, but even in his condition, he could. She just hoped that he'd know when to make his move, if she gave him the opportunity.   
  
"This man is my bodyguard. He needs immediate medical attention." Relena paused for a moment. "I want you to take him to it."   
  
Her captor began to laugh. "I hardly think you're in a good negotiating position."   
  
"For whatever reason you want me dead, he has nothing to do with it." She smiled sadly. "He doesn't even like me very much."   
  
Heero grimaced. "Relena…"   
  
"All I ask is that you take him to the nearest hospital. After that…you can complete your mission."   
  
"You really expect me to take this man to a hospital so he can live to tell the world that someone with my description murdered the Foreign Minister? I take back what I said about you having brains."   
  
She bit her lip. "How much are you being paid for this?"   
  
"How do you know I'm being paid?" The man smirked. "Maybe I just want you dead."   
  
"How much?" When he didn't say anything, Relena pointed to her bag. "I have a hundred and fifty thousand credits in there, and I can write you an order for more. Would that be enough to ensure that you take my bodyguard to safety?"   
  
The leader looked at his men. "Stand down for a moment." The weapons pointed at her lowered. "All right, Minister Peacecraft. I want to see these credits first before I agree to anything."   
  
Relena nodded. "Of course. Just let me get my bag." She stood slowly and took her bag, opening it with careful motions. Her fingers searched around until she found her wallet. She pulled it out, showed it to the man, and reached back in for her orderbook. But instead of the leather book, her fingers closed around a cool, metal cylinder.   
  
"Could you hold this?" she asked her captor, indicating the wallet in her hand. "I can't seem to find my orderbook."   
  
He stepped forward, eager to relieve Relena of her thick wallet. When he was no more than a foot away from her, she whipped her arm out of her bag, armed with a travel-sized can of hairspray.   
  
She aimed for the man's eyes and sprayed a healthy amount directly into them. He screamed, dropped her wallet and clutched his face.   
  
"Heero!" Relena shouted, turning her head towards him.   
  
Holding his injured arm against his body, he reached behind, grabbed his gun and threw it to her. Relena dropped her bag in order to catch the weapon before the guards had any time to react. Once it was in her hand, she jammed the end of it against the leader's forehead. He immediately froze, his eyes still screwed shut.   
  
"Put your guns down!" she ordered his men. Five weapons dropped to the brown grass.   
  
"Kick them away," Heero added. Relena swallowed; his voice was weaker than she'd ever heard it before.   
  
She waited until the men had complied. "Now, here's what I *really* want. First of all, I assume you're traveling with some sort of first-aid kit. Yes or no. It's not a difficult question."   
  
The leader forced his eyes open; they were swollen and a horrible shade of red. "Yes," he replied between gritted teeth.   
  
"Does it contain any sort of anti-venom?" He nodded tightly. "All right." Relena let out a breath. "Get your men to get my bodyguard to your cars. I'll have more orders from there."   
  
The leader jerked his head slightly, and two of the men approached Heero from either side and helped him to his feet. He let out a grunt of pain.   
  
Keeping the gun pressed against the man's face, Relena followed the group of soldiers and Heero down a small hill and across a couple hundred feet to where their Jeeps rested. "Get the kit out; give him the injection."   
  
"We have one vial," the man laughed despite the gun aimed at his forehead. "It won't be enough."   
  
"It's something." Relena watched one of the men rip the packaging on a sterile hypodermic and stick the needle into a vial of clear serum. Heero had no reaction to the needle sliding into his arm; his eyes were on Relena, giving her a look she couldn't quite identify. It wasn't angry, but it wasn't grateful either. "All right." She thought fast. "We'll go in one car with you driving," she told the leader. "Everyone else…all the credits in that wallet are yours to split up if you drive in an opposite direction and don't look back."   
  
The men exchanged looks. They were being paid peanuts to take the white man through the savanna, and the offer of a hundred and fifty thousand divided five ways was far more appealing.   
  
"You bitch," the abandoned leader muttered as his men grabbed the money, tossed the wallet and climbed into one of the Jeeps. "You should have died in that crash."   
  
"Probably," Relena agreed. She eased up a bit with the gun, but still kept it trained on him. "Help my bodyguard into the car."   
  
When Heero was in the open-air backseat, the man looked at Relena. "And now?"   
  
"You're going to drive us to that nearest hospital, of course." She gestured him into the driver's seat. "I haven't ever killed anyone, but if you've paid any attention to my recent politics, as you must have if you dislike them so much to kill me because of them, you know that I no longer support my completely pacifist ideals." She cocked the gun. "Do not do anything while you're driving that will turn me into a killer."   
  
She took the passenger's seat next to their hostage and with one hand keeping the gun pointed at him, Relena looked back at Heero, as the man started the Jeep. "Please hold on, Heero."   
  
He shook his head against the inside of the Jeep's door. "Why are you doing this…for me?"   
  
"You've saved my life, more than once. If I am going to die today, the thing I want most of all is to know that I was able to save yours." The Jeep hit a bump in the rocky ground as it raced towards the mountains. "I love you, Heero."   
  
Relena quickly faced forward and looked at the driver. "Where are we heading?"   
  
His reply was short. "Victoria Falls."   
  
****   
  
"It doesn't make any sense."   
  
Duo turned the buttery leather wallet over and over in his hands. "It's like a bad riddle, Quat-man. How did Relena Peacecraft's wallet end up empty and abandoned in the middle of Africa, a hundred feet away from her carry-on, an airline blanket, a garbage bag full of empty bottles, five semi-automatic weapons and one very dead snake?"   
  
"Something happened here. Someone was hurt." A few feet away, next to a deep set of tire tracks, Trowa gingerly lifted a hypodermic needle from the tangled grass. "I don't think this was used for recreation."   
  
Wufei looked around. "Whatever happened, it didn't happen long ago. An hour, maybe two."   
  
One of the guides pointed to the fresh tracks. "They lead west. To the border."   
  
"Going on the assumption that all this stuff is somehow connected…" Duo began. After a moment, he threw up his hands. "I have no idea anymore. Do we push on to Zimbabwe?"   
  
"Relena is still alive." Quatre closed his eyes and turned his face up to the afternoon sun. "And Heero is with her." His brow crinkled. "But barely."   
  
Duo blinked. "What does that mean?"   
  
"He's dying."   
  
A rare breeze swept over them, making Duo's messy braid dance along his back. Trowa glanced back towards the tree. "The snake?" he asked his lover.   
  
"I can't be sure. It would seem likely." Quatre opened his eyes. "We have to catch up. Fast. Before we lose both of them."   
  
****   
  
His vision was starting to blur. He knew the reason for it; the toxins in the cobra's venom were attacking his neurotransmitters, preventing messages from being sent to his brain. It wouldn't be long before his respiratory went. The venom would paralyze his diaphragm and…   
  
Heero blinked, trying to keep Relena in focus as the Jeep jolted over miles of African ground. It wouldn't do any good to think about what was happening in his body. What was going to happen was going to happen, maybe even in spite of all her efforts to save him. Her foolish, selfless efforts.   
  
She should have left him behind to die, especially after everything he'd ever put her through. Years of rejection, hurtful words, giving her a little of what she wanted only to snatch it away from her without warning…why didn't she hate him?! Why did she still love him?!   
  
Relena saw good in him when everyone else, himself included, saw emptiness. She saw a man worthy of her heart. Maybe she was blind, but he couldn't deny any longer that her heart was something he treasured having.   
  
But he'd kept his own out of her reach for so long. And now, it was too late. It wouldn't be long before his heart stopped beating…and it really wouldn't be good enough for her. At least, he told himself, after his death, she would have to get on with her life. She wouldn't have a choice in the matter.   
  
"I see it!" Relena cried out from the front seat, her voice nearly lost in the wind that whipped across them. "The city, Heero! Victoria Falls!" She looked back at him. "We're almost there!"   
  
His chest felt so tight, but he managed to nod. "You'll be…all right. Relena."   
  
She looked back at him, but all he saw was a blur of gold. "Heero?"   
  
"I want…I need you to know." Heero took a breath before he couldn't anymore. "You have saved me…from myself." The pain in his chest tripled and he squeezed his eyes shut.   
  
"Heero! Oh god!" Relena turned her body until she was sitting on her knees in the passenger's seat, hanging over the back of it to reach him. "Drive faster!" she screamed at her would-be assassin. Her attention returned to Heero. With her free hand, she grasped his. "Heero, please open your eyes." Tears wet her lips. "Please…fight it. If you can't do it alone, I'm here. Remember? What you told me that just a few days ago?"   
  
He shook his head. "This might be…the end of the road, Relena."   
  
"Don't you even think that, Heero Yuy!" She sniffed back her tears and looked at the man driving. "Are you going as fast as you can?"   
  
The man stared at the city as they approached it. The landscape was different here, greener. They were approaching a major body of water, the falls for which the city was named. "He's going to die. What does it matter?"   
  
"He is not going to die!" Relena looked back at Heero. "He's not going to die." Sobs welled up in her chest as she watched him struggle to breathe. "Please, Heero…you can't die…"   
  
The slender hand holding the man at gunpoint faltered slightly, and it was just the opportunity he needed. At the very edge of the city they'd gone through so much to get to, the man slammed on the brakes, jolting Relena forward so hard, she dropped the gun.   
  
He scooped it up, triumphant. "All of this could have been avoided, Minister, if you'd have just gone easily. It's not even so much your politics we give a damn about, but what you represent. An era better left forgotten. You are the living reminder of a monarchy system better off dead, and to put you in a position of even greater power is unthinkable. Now, here's how this is *really* going to play out. We're dumping the bodyguard."   
  
"No!!"   
  
"Oh, let it go. Look at him; he's as good as gone." Relena looked back at Heero. Sweat poured off his face; his eyes were rolled back in his head. The man stopped the car, got out and opened the back door. With one hand, he yanked Heero out and let him fall to the ground with a sickening thud. "He'll be dead before any animal gets hold of him. You can take some comfort in that."   
  
Relena's hands were pressed against her mouth. "Please…if you'll just take him into the town…you can kill me. I won't care!"   
  
The man laughed. "Negotiating until the very end. Admirable." He shook his head. "I can't risk anyone seeing you. The whole world thinks you died in a tragic plane crash. If anyone finds his body, no one will care how he died. But you…" He wagged the gun at her. "I'm going to get rid of you in such a way that there won't be enough of you left to identify." He pointed into the distance. "The rocks under the falls should take care of your body; if not, then the crocodiles." Climbing back into the car, he turned the ignition on. "Shall we, Minister Peacecraft?"   
  
"Let me…" She swallowed. "Let me see him one last time."   
  
"No, I don't think so. You told me yourself that he doesn't like you. Why would your face be the last one he ever wants to see?" He put the car into drive and they peeled away, leaving Heero behind in the dust.   
  
****   
  
To Be Continued 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me.  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the sweet feedback!! I always appreciate it;)  
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
"Heero…Heero!"  
  
Everything was a blur of overexposed colors; he couldn't seem to focus on anything except the shrill voice ringing in his ear.  
  
"He's coming around! Told Wufei he wasn't dead!" As his vision cleared just a bit, he could see wide violet eyes staring down at him. "Damn, I'm glad I'm always right!"  
  
There was pain, a lot of pain, and his breaths were short and shallow. But, Heero realized as he concentrated on Duo Maxwell's face, he wasn't dead just yet. Surely nothing he had done in his life could have bad enough to send him to this sort of hell.  
  
Heero tried to swallow, but his throat was so swollen that he nearly choked. Coughing wildly, he shook his head back and forth. He seemed to be lying on the folded-down seat of some kind of car, but he had no idea how he'd gotten there or from where Duo had appeared. The last thing he remembered was Relena crying…telling him that he couldn't die.  
  
"Hey, woah! Quatre, help me hold him down." Together, they managed to keep Heero from launching himself up. "Heero, calm down. We're, like, a minute away from the hospital. You're going to be okay if you just keep still. Quatre thinks you've got a lot of poison in your system and you've lost a lot of blood, too. So, for once, just chill out." Duo's smile was broad. "You can lie there and think about what sort of thank-you gift you're going to get me for all of this."  
  
Heero continued to shake his head, despite the fact that his two old comrades each had a tight hold on his arms and legs as the car bumped through Victoria Falls. "Relena…gotta get to…Relena."  
  
Duo's smile fell. "Relena? She's still…um…alive?"  
  
He struggled to turn the blurred memories into words. "He's…got her. Tried to kill…the plane crash…" Heero sucked in as much breath as he could. "Taking her…to the…falls."  
  
"Someone has Relena, and is taking her to the falls to kill her?" Quatre asked. Heero nodded. The blond man reached into for the portable communicator that connected their car to the one just behind them. "Wufei, come in."  
  
The Chinese man's face appeared on the screen. "What is it?"  
  
Quatre repeated the information Heero had just given them, slightly annoyed at how surprised Wufei seemed to be upon hearing that Heero was still alive. "We've got to find her before…" He trailed off.  
  
"Acknowledged," Wufei replied. He exchanged a few words with the guide driving their car. "We're on our way." He paused. "Tell Heero that we'll do our best. To bring her back."  
  
"I will. Quatre, out."  
  
Heero looked up at the non-descript ceiling above him. It was the first time in days that he'd been out of the elements, but he would have traded it all…the air conditioning, the shelter from the sun, the soft cushion underneath his head…to have Relena back in his arms.  
  
****  
  
"You're probably a very nice girl, Minister Peacecraft." The man shook his head sadly. "You're well-bred, well-mannered under other circumstances, pretty when you're cleaned up a bit; you probably would have made someone real happy someday."  
  
Relena gritted her teeth. They stood on the very edge of the falls, where the river spilled hundreds of feet to the rocks below. The roar of the rushing water all around them wasn't enough to drown out the condescension in his words. "Kindly refrain from speaking about me as you might a horse."  
  
"You see, if you had only just kept your ambitions small, we wouldn't be here!" He waved his free arm, indicating the steep drop of the falls just behind them. "You wouldn't have to die! And maybe your bodyguard wouldn't be dead, either. So much death and destruction, just because you had to play politics out of your league. Like a man would. But you're not a man. You're just a woman. Not even that. A girl. A little girl."  
  
She gave him a cool look, but said nothing, refusing to even dignify his misogyny with a reply.  
  
"Now, I'd like to get this over with quick. You've forced me to stay on this god-forsaken continent for much longer than I ever intended to be here." He took a step away from the edge and pointed Heero's gun straight at her chest. "It'll be over quick. You might not even feel the rocks tear you apart. And hopefully you'll be dead before the crocodiles find your body."  
  
Relena lifted her chin. "For an assassin, you're surprisingly concerned about my comfort level."  
  
"I am not a killer," the man snapped.  
  
"Then what are you?" She tilted her head to one side, studying him. "Who are you?" When he said nothing, she smiled. "Just as I suspected. You're nobody. Just one of so many faceless people desperately trying to make the world turn on their terms." His eyes narrowed. "If you had any real power, you wouldn't consider me a threat. And you wouldn't feel the need to eliminate me."  
  
He shook his head. "Whatever you're trying to do…you're only succeeding in making me enjoy this."  
  
Her eyes were on the gun in his hand. Heero's gun. She'd been in this position before, with Heero himself on the other end of the weapon. What had saved her then? She couldn't remember. Funny since she never thought she'd forget a single moment spent with Heero. But now she could only remember his face. And her heart ached with the realization that she'd never see it again.  
  
"Then why don't you just go ahead and do it?" Relena suggested. "Kill me, get it over with." Her throat closed up. "I don't care anymore."  
  
"An excellent attitude." He curled his finger around the trigger. "Now, I'd rather not have to put a bullet in you just in case someone does find something left of you. So, if you don't mind…could you just jump?"  
  
Relena looked over her shoulder. The foam and spray of the water against the jagged rocks made her heart leap into her throat. What would Heero do were he in this situation?  
  
"Oh, come on already," the man said with obvious impatience. "It's not like you really have much to live for."  
  
*I want you to live through this, Relena. And not just because it's my job.*  
  
His words, the ones that had gotten her through the terror of the plane crash, came to her so clearly that it was almost like he was standing next to her, saying them. Relena's knees were shaky, but all of a sudden she was anything but scared. She was going to live. She was going to get through this for him. Wherever he was, she wanted him to be proud of her. To be proud of himself for giving her whatever strength she possessed.  
  
"You're only delaying the inevitable." He cocked the gun, an unnecessary dramatic gesture Relena couldn't help but note. "Jump."  
  
She was going to get through it…but she was going to need help.  
  
And then, without any warning, help appeared.  
  
Over the man's shoulder, she could see a handful of men making their way through the thick brush and around the even thicker trees. She tried to keep her face as blank as possible; she even took a step closer to the edge of the rocks as not to alert her captor that anything was going on.  
  
It was hard to make out her rescuer's faces and not look at them, so Relena merely took a breath and shook back her tangled hair. "If I die, all *you'll* succeed in doing is turning me into a martyr."  
  
"We…I mean, I'll take my chances."  
  
She licked her dry lip. So, it wasn't just a crazy man working alone. There were more people out there who wanted her dead. She let her gaze flicker over the man's shoulder again and it took everything she had to keep still when she recognized Trowa Barton as the person sneaking up on them. She'd only met the man a few times at social functions he attended with Quatre Winner, but right then, he was her best friend in the world.  
  
"So be it." Relena took another tiny step backwards.  
  
Like one of the wild animals, she'd seen on her adventure with Heero, Trowa pounced on the man, grabbing around the neck with one arm and squeezing just hard enough to cut off his air supply. She was sure that he had anticipated that the man would drop the gun and she could run to safety. It was a good plan. A solid plan.  
  
But it didn't play out that way. Instead of letting go of the weapon as someone got him into a choke-hold from behind, the man's finger instinctively closed around the trigger.  
  
Relena felt the bullet rip into her shoulder and her first thought was that she'd always thought getting shot would hurt more. She looked down at the wound, noted the blossom of crimson over her already torn and stained clothes like she might note a hangnail on her thumb. She was grateful, she realized with some amazement. It could have been much worse.  
  
"Minister Peacecraft!!" someone shouted. She blinked and tried to see who it was; Trowa was wrestling her shooter to the ground. "Get away from the edge!!"  
  
The edge. Get away from it? Relena wanted to laugh. She couldn't even keep her knees from giving out underneath her, much less command them to actually work. Smiling ruefully, she dropped to the rocks on which she stood. Water from the river wet her face; it was almost refreshing.  
  
Her body was swaying now, and all she wanted was to just let go and fall backwards. It *was* the end of the road. And with any luck, Heero would be waiting for her there.  
  
****  
  
To Be Continued 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me.  
  
Author's Notes: Once more, I can't thank you enough for the support and interest. Enjoy!!!  
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
He emerged from the darkness without any struggle. One minute there was nothingness; the next, his eyes were open, his vision clear, the pain a faint, but still discernable memory.  
  
Heero glanced down at his body. His dirty uniform was gone, and he'd been redressed in a thin cotton hospital gown. An IV ran into the back of his hand; thick bandages swaddled his arm where the snake had ripped out a chunk of him.  
  
He wasn't hungry, thirsty, hot or uncomfortable. But all of a sudden, Heero Yuy was scared.  
  
Like lightning, he bolted upright. "Relena!"  
  
"What the fuck?!" Across the room, Duo awoke, wrestling with the magazine that he'd draped over his face as he slept. He jumped to his feet. "Dammit, Heero…you could give a guy some warning!!"  
  
Heero grabbed the plastic IV tube. "Relena…"  
  
"Don't you rip that thing out," Duo warned him. "They're still pumping anti-venom into you through it."  
  
He let go of the tube, but transferred the full brunt of his disoriented and frantic state onto his friend. "What's going on? Where's Relena?"  
  
Duo wanted to smirk, to gloat over that fact that he'd been right for years and that Heero truly did care about the Foreign Minister, but it was neither the time, nor the place. If Heero didn't get answers soon, he would likely do something drastic.  
  
"You're in the Victoria Falls hospital; you've been out of it for about two days now. Do you remember anything before right now?"  
  
Heero nodded. "Relena," he said again.  
  
"Give me a second." Duo inhaled a huge breath. "It's taken about fifteen vials of the anti-venom stuff, but the doctors think you're gonna be just fine, although you'll probably feel kinda crappy for another couple of days."  
  
With his uninjured arm, Heero grabbed the sleeve of Duo's black shirt. "Where is Relena?"  
  
Duo hung his head for a second. "They said you could get in a wheelchair and move around. So maybe…maybe you should see for yourself."  
  
Heero could feel his heart leap into his throat, and did his best to swallow it back down. "Is she…" He couldn't even say it. Couldn't even think it.  
  
"She's alive, Heero," the other man said, uncharacteristically subdued. "But…well." He clapped a hand on Heero's shoulder. "You should just come see her."  
  
****  
  
Her room was private and heavily guarded. As Duo wheeled him closer, a humiliation in and of itself, Heero couldn't help but feel more than a little embarrassed in front of his fellow Preventers. But the men were professionals, and recognized his position, even in his current state. They saluted and waited for his return salute before opening the door of Relena's hospital room and allowing them to pass.  
  
Her bed was equally guarded, not by military men, but by a small team of doctors and nurses. He could barely see her around them; they were poking at her, prodding her, checking the myriad of monitors to which she was connected. Heero's fingers dug into the arms of his chair when one nurse moved out of the way and he finally saw her.  
  
She was a lifeless doll, a broken angel whose wings were almost beyond repair. As someone had done to him, she'd been cleaned up, but a sponge bath hadn't given her hair back its usual golden luster, nor had it brought color to her translucent skin. Her heart beat with marching band precision, but had it not been for those monitors, Heero wouldn't have even been sure that Duo wasn't lying, that she was still alive.  
  
"She took a bullet in the shoulder," Duo said, answering the question he knew Heero wanted to ask, but was too floored to get out. "Also, she's severely dehydrated…but you were, too. Really, the bullet didn't hit anything major, and she should have woken up by…" He stopped.  
  
Heero's voice was low and chilly. "Why hasn't she?"  
  
"Don't know." Duo walked around to stand beside Heero. Together, they stared at the princess politician. "I'm not, like, a doctor or anything. Obviously. But I think…maybe she doesn't want to wake up." When Heero said nothing, Duo glanced at him. His eyes were tightly shut; his brow furred in what might have been identified as guilt on any other man's face. "What happened out there?"  
  
"She loved me." Heero opened his eyes. "I let her down." Ignoring the IV stand he was still attached to, he pushed the wheels of his chair forward, heading for the bed. "And she thinks I'm dead."  
  
"Hey, can you give him a moment with the patient?" Duo asked the doctors and nurses as he followed Heero, IV stand in hand as he walked. "He won't hurt her." He looked on as Heero watched Relena sleep. "You have my word."  
  
They filed out somewhat reluctantly and Duo took a few steps back. "Um…I'll just be outside," he told Heero. He hesitated before adding, "Talk to her. They always say it helps…that she can hear it. I bet if she just heard your voice…" He coughed conspicuously. "So…yeah. Bye."  
  
Heero heard the other man's words, and then heard the door close behind him, but his eyes never left Relena's face. The wound she'd received in the crash had finally been properly sutured, but it was the bandages wrapped around her bare, right shoulder that had his attention and worry.  
  
He sniffed, a quick intake of breath, and examined her face more closely. The lips he had kissed for so long during that last night in the savanna were visibly dry, but nonetheless desirable. There was no smile there, however; if she was dreaming, it wasn't about anything pleasant. Duo had told him to talk to her, but since when did he start listening to the braided one? Heero rubbed the side of his hand over his mouth. Maybe, just maybe, this once…  
  
"Relena." He wheeled as close as he could to her. "Relena, if you can understand this…I'm here. I'm not dead."  
  
After a moment of silence, Heero pushed away from the bed with a sigh of self-disgust. Why would she come around just for him after the way he'd treated her? He glanced back at her, lying so pale and so still. She still held a presence over the room, as though she were standing up straight, wearing one of her formal, but flattering business suits, giving a rousing speech. How did she hold her power…over him, specifically?  
  
He remembered. He remembered how she'd refused to leave him behind. How she'd risked everything to get him to safety. How well she'd handled his gun. If she could care about him after what he'd done to her, why was he still so reluctant to show her how much *he* cared? Could it be that for the first time in his life, Heero Yuy was playing the coward?  
  
With determined motions, he moved back to her side and with clumsy hands, reached for hers. Her cool, slender fingers felt so fragile; he threaded his through hers for support. "Relena." A long pause followed this, as he struggled to put together the words. "Do you know why I threw you my gun instead of using it myself?" There was no answer, save for the gentle rise and fall of her chest. "I trust you. And I don't…I've never really trusted anyone before." Heero swallowed although his throat was dry. "I'm frightened, Relena, by what I feel for you. How deep you've gotten into me. Maybe I'm really scared of what might happen if I just let you in. Maybe I wouldn't be able to tell where I stopped and you began. And maybe I wouldn't even care."  
  
On impulse, Heero raised her fingers to his lips, letting her feel the words, if she couldn't hear them. "You make me seriously consider what kind of person I could be. Not what kind of bodyguard or soldier, but what kind of man. And maybe the scariest thing of all is that it might be true…that I'm not the sort of man you deserve. I couldn't take that, Relena. Because I want to be good enough. I want to be the sort of man you can be proud to love." He closed his eyes. "Because I…I love you."  
  
A moment passed. Heero opened his eyes slowly, some unidentified part of him expecting her to be awake, waiting for him to look at her. But her eyes were still closed, her breath was still shallow, and she showed no more signs of life than before.  
  
His own eyes burned suddenly, stung by something hot and wet. He frowned and blinked several times to clear them, only to find that the moisture dripped down his cheeks to the corners of his mouth. He tasted salt when he licked his lips.  
  
Heero released her fingers. Whatever was going on, he didn't like it. It was decidedly abnormal. He sniffed again, and found that the wetness was still seeping from somewhere deep within, and he couldn't seem to get it to stop. Utilizing the sleeve of his ridiculous hospital gown, he scrubbed at his face.  
  
"You can cry…Heero."  
  
Her voice was so faint that he almost wasn't sure he'd heard the words at all. Heero's arm dropped and he found himself staring into Relena's clear, blue eyes. She gave him the smallest of smiles, as bright as she could manage. "I won't…tell anyone."  
  
"Relena…" Staunching his tears was forgotten. "How long have you been…"  
  
"I heard it all." Her fingers felt for his and only when they were joined did she speak again, "I'll always…be proud to love you."  
  
His back curved over; his forehead landed on the soft swell of her breast. "Don't ever stop," he said, his words muffled. "Don't let me do anything to make you stop."  
  
Relena ran her IVed hand through his hair, playing with the short, but soft strands at the back of his neck as she whispered, "Couldn't happen."  
  
"I might fuck up again," he warned her.  
  
She wanted to laugh, but her shoulder throbbed too much to let her. "Duly noted. And already forgiven."  
  
"You're really sure about this?" He lifted his head, and for the first time, she could see some of the insecure child he'd never been allowed to be. "About me?"  
  
"I am." Her fingers grazed his still-stubbled chin. "For me…you're it."  
  
Heero shook his head as he covered her hand with his and brought it over to his mouth. He pressed a hot kiss into her palm. "I'll never understand why you picked me. But I'm grateful for it." He looked at her straight on. "Damnit, Relena. I'm grateful for it."  
  
"Come here." She urged him up out of his chair until his face hovered over hers. "Kiss me," she ordered. "And don't let it be a mistake."  
  
He brushed a kiss onto her lips. "It never was." Heero let his mouth meet hers completely, kissing her with the reassurance that he'd always be able to.  
  
And after crocodiles, lions, snakes and assassins, it wasn't nearly as scary as he'd once thought.  
  
****  
  
"I wouldn't go in there," Duo told Quatre as the blond man approached the guarded door with Trowa. The taller Preventer's left arm was in a sling from the struggle with Relena's would-be assassin, but he seemed none the worse for wear.  
  
Quatre frowned. "Why not? What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong." Duo cleared his throat. "Heero's in there."  
  
"I see. It must be hard for him, seeing her lying there like that. So lifeless."  
  
Duo scratched the back of his head. "I'm not so sure about that. In fact, I think he's having a pretty good time."  
  
Quatre gave him a reprimanding look. "How can you say that, even about Heero? You know as well as we all do how much Heero truly cares about…"  
  
"Little one." Trowa directed his lover's attention to the narrow, vertical window cut into Relena's door. "Look."  
  
Inside the room, all three men could plainly see Heero and the Foreign Minister wrapped up in each other despite all the medical equipment they were both still hooked into; if the heat of the embrace was any indication, it wouldn't be long before both of them were fully recovered from their adventure.  
  
Quatre watched Heero run a soft hand down Relena's cheek; his lips touched hers like a butterfly's wings. He blinked. "Oh my…"  
  
"How long has she been awake?" Trowa asked.  
  
"Awhile. I'm gonna alert a doctor soon," Duo replied. "I just wanted to give them a few minutes together." After another second of watching the couple, he snapped to attention. "All right, show's over."  
  
Shaking his head as Trowa gently urged him away from the door, Quatre had to smile. "Never, ever in my wildest dreams…"  
  
Duo nodded, unable to stem his own wide grin. "Quat-man, I second that."  
  
****  
  
To Be Continued 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me.  
  
Author's Notes: Well, we've come to the end of the road. I hope it was a journey worth taking. Thank you for coming with me and offering your kind words. I've appreciated every single one. Take care until next time!!!  
  
****  
  
Your Wildest Dreams  
  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
It was supposed to have been a simple trip to Africa. But it turned into the true beginning of his life.  
  
Although she'd never know if it was because of her politics or the public sympathy she'd earned after the attempts on her life, three months later Relena won the presidency in a complete landslide. The night of the elections, after her victory was announced and once the celebrations had died down, Heero found her in the silent, empty office she'd spent her time as Foreign Minister in. She was strangely subdued for someone who'd just become the most powerful person in the world.  
  
"You didn't touch your champagne," he said, announcing his presence.  
  
She didn't seem surprised that he was there; since returning to the world after their impromptu safari, a whole new world had opened up for them, the world of dating. She was more than familiar with it, but Heero was not. However, with a little help from Duo, he was well on his way to perfecting yet another part of his persona: the boyfriend.  
  
"I didn't eat anything today. It would have gone straight to my head." Relena turned away from the windows and smiled at him. "Were you hoping I'd get tipsy so you could take advantage of me?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"I'm not sure if I want to take that as a yes or a no."  
  
Heero walked towards her with slow precision. "I don't want to take advantage of you. Ever."  
  
"Like you could take advantage of the President," she teased him. He was so close now, close enough for her to smell his plain soap scent. His Preventer uniform was clean and crisp, although the buttons at his throat had been undone. Relena got the strangest feeling, like she was a doe being sought by a buck. She looked up at him. "Have I ever thanked you?"  
  
He frowned. "For what?"  
  
"You saved my life a hundred times in Africa."  
  
"And you saved mine a hundred more." Heero slipped one hand around her waist. "That's not why I'm here, Relena."  
  
Her mouth was suddenly dry. Making love with Heero was definitely something that had been on her mind recently…and if she were being totally honest, had been on her mind for years. Now that it was so close, she found herself hesitant. It would be good. It would be powerful. It would be binding. There wouldn't be any quick affair for them. Once they crossed the line, it would be forever.  
  
"So…you're here to talk about…the trial?" she asked when he dipped his head to nuzzle just under her jaw. With the information provided by the man who had shot her at the falls, the right-wing party of colonists who'd sought to assassinate her had been scouted out, and now rotted in jail awaiting their trial. It promised to be the court case of the century; Relena was not at all looking forward to it, but with Heero by her side, she was prepared for anything.  
  
"Hardly," he whispered. His breath on her skin was the most delicious sensation imaginable, and no matter how many times he was this close to her, it was always a surprise how her body reacted. "I don't know how to go about this, Relena." Heero's mouth traveled up to her ear; her eyes closed. "I just know what I want."  
  
"What do you…want?" She grabbed his arms to keep her balance.  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
Relena opened her eyes. Heero had pulled back slightly; they stared at each other for a long, breathless moment. Finally, she made up her mind. "Come home with me."  
  
She'd been right, she realized later. It was good. No, better than good. It was everything she'd ever hoped it would be.  
  
Relena fell asleep that night in the arms of the man she'd loved and woke up the next morning to a new world. He was already awake, waiting for her with a well thought-out, yet completely out of the blue question.  
  
Saying 'yes' to Heero's proposal of marriage was the first decision she made as President and by far the easiest.  
  
****  
  
On the wide screen of one of the Presidential mansion's televisions, Heero watched a tape of Relena delivering her annual speech, updating the world and the colonies on the state of their government. Given only the night before, it had been her fourth such speech, marking her fourth year in office; her first term as President would be over soon. And to everyone's surprise, it would be her last. She had announced, only a few minutes into the speech, that she would not be running for the position again. She was ready to hand over the responsibility to someone else, she'd told everyone. But only Heero knew the real reason.  
  
"Heero?" Relena entered the bedroom dressed quite differently than the woman on the screen. The world's President wore a navy blue suit; his Relena had on a summer dress and sandals. Her long, blond hair was pulled into a casual ponytail instead of a severe braid.  
  
But perhaps the biggest difference between the politician and the woman was the two year-old boy seated on her hip wearing a baseball cap, a gift from his 'Unca Duo', that was at least three sizes too big for his head of brown curls. Austin Yuy squirmed in his mother's arms, eager to be let down onto his little sneaker-clad feet.  
  
She held on, though; she'd just gotten his shoes tied for the fifth time, and wasn't about to give him an opportunity to untie the double knots. Because somehow, Austin was always able to.  
  
"We're as ready as we're going to get." Relena glanced at the screen and shook her head. "All right, I order all tapes of that speech destroyed. I look horrible."  
  
Heero turned the TV off with the remote control, flicked it onto the neatly made bed, and stood up. "Give yourself a break. You were sick five minutes beforehand."  
  
His wife of just over three years gave him a look. "And who's to blame for that? Here." She held out their wriggling son. "He's getting really heavy."  
  
"Zoo, Daddy," Austin said, looking up at his father with his mother's eyes, although Heero could barely see them underneath his cap. "We're going zoo!"  
  
Heero turned the hat around so that the bill faced backwards. "What'll we see at the zoo?" he asked.  
  
"Wions!" Austin's euphoria was short lived as Relena began rubbing sunscreen all over his delicate skin. "No, Momma. No yucky."  
  
"Yucky keeps us from being toasty," she told the little boy. "And in this family, we don't see lions until we're completely yucky. Right?"  
  
Her husband nodded even when Austin's little lower lip protruded. "Right. Sorry, kid."  
  
When Relena finished, she wiped the excess lotion across the bridge of Heero's nose. "You always forget," she explained, giving his cheek a kiss. "All right. Now we really are ready."  
  
"Zoo!!" Austin announced again, the yucky already forgotten.  
  
"Zoo," Heero said, shrugging his shoulders at his wife.  
  
"Zoo," she sighed, one hand on her lower belly.  
  
****  
  
Going anywhere in public with Relena, the most admired, and consequently the most scrutinized woman in the world, was always an exercise in patience for Heero. He'd long since gotten used to the press who seemed permanently camped outside the Presidential Mansion. He'd learned how to get his family through them as quickly and as safely as possible, and he'd even learned to ignore, rather than hit, any reporter who got too close, or asked a question better left unasked.  
  
"You've come a long way, baby," Relena told him when they left the mob behind at the gates of the zoo. "But don't think I didn't see your fist ball up when that one guy asked if I wasn't running again because you were unsatisfied with our sex life."  
  
Heero settled Austin into his stroller with a scowl on his face. "Where do they come up with that shi…" He glanced at his son. "Stuff."  
  
"They're just looking for the reaction, you know that."  
  
"I was going to hit him, Relena. He kept looking at you." Heero shook his head and straightened back up. "I haven't come that far."  
  
"You held back; that's what counts." Her eyes twinkled. "Although it would have been fun to have my honor defended."  
  
"Momma!" Austin broke the moment, reaching up towards his parents. "Want some juice."  
  
Relena pulled a plastic cup of juice out of Austin's bag, but her thoughts were still back on the wayward reporter. "I didn't think there'd be so much curiosity about me not running again."  
  
"They love you. They want to keep you all to themselves." As they started into the zoo, Heero watched his son drink. The little things Austin did that were so commonplace, his first smile, steps, words, were tiny miracles to him. He was a genius child according to Heero.  
  
He never stopped to wonder if it had all been worth it. The plane crash, the days in the savanna, the snake bite that had nearly taken his life…he wouldn't have changed a thing out of fear that perhaps it might not have all worked out as it did. And going back to a life without Relena or Austin was unimaginable.  
  
"Well, they can't have me anymore," Relena replied, tartly. "Having Austin while in office was unavoidable, but I'm not taking any of my attention away from this baby for campaigning and then a whole new term." She rubbed her flat abdomen with the hand that wasn't steering her son's stroller. "That's the right choice…isn't it?"  
  
"You know that whatever makes you happy is the right choice as far as I'm concerned," he told her. "If you're worried about public reaction, make a statement about the baby."  
  
Relena nibbled on her lower lip. "I will. As soon as possible." She looked down at Austin. "What's first, sweetie?"  
  
"Wions!" he promptly replied, abandoning his juice cup.  
  
"Had to be the lions," Relena muttered. "You couldn't get the child obsessed with dinosaurs or something a little less…"  
  
"Real?" Heero shrugged. "It wasn't me."  
  
A few minutes later, they entered the elaborately designed walkways through the lion habitat. Although six inches of shatterproof plastic stood between them and the actual display, Relena kept a close hand on her baby's stroller.  
  
She needn't have been worried. The midday sun had proved too hot for the animals, and they remained out of sight in the shadows of their dens.  
  
Austin craned his little neck all around, searching. "Where the wions, Daddy?" he asked in a tiny, worried voice.  
  
"I don't know, kid." Heero knelt down to his son's level. "They must be sleeping." The completely tragic disappointment on Austin's face was heart-wrenching. "Maybe they'll be out later." The boy seemed unconvinced; a fat tear appeared at the twin corners of his blue eyes. Heero thought quick. "Maybe someday we can go to Africa and see them for real."  
  
Relena kicked him. Hard.  
  
"Maybe not."  
  
His wife pursed her lips. "Let's go. Perhaps the gorillas will be out and you can take your place amongst them." With a flounce of her hair, she pushed Austin towards the exit.  
  
Heero caught up with her and pulled her around for a deep kiss. "You always wanted to go on safari," he reminded her.  
  
"The desire has been appeased." She turned her head to avoid a second kiss.  
  
"You wouldn't go into the savanna with me again?"  
  
Relena looked back at him. "Oh, baby." She cupped his handsome face in her hands. "I'd do anything for you. I'd endure hours of excruciating pain to bring your children into the world. I'd…" She whispered something entirely inappropriate for a zoo into his ear, making his eyes grow a bit wider. "But I will never…" She kissed his right cheek. "Ever…" She moved to the left. "Ever…" Her lips found his. "Go to Africa with you again."  
  
Heero lifted his shoulders. "Fair enough."  
  
"Now what, Austin?" she asked the little boy, giving Heero a little wink.  
  
"Snakes!"  
  
Relena's face paled. Heero held up his hands, innocently. "That wasn't me either."  
  
Her eyes narrowed as she remembered Duo's last Christmas present for Austin, a plastic picture book of wild animals.  
  
The braided one was going to pay.  
  
****  
  
The End 


End file.
